great stuff, liked them when they were this sad day & then the griffins, love them now, cheers

I was immediately intrigued by the fuzzily somber sound of "Even If", the first track on Mood Swings & Cravings. The song's chorus is pretty standard modern rock, but the lead in to the chorus is fuzzy and slightly distorted, and it drew me in. That same sound closes the song out in a piecy, stop/start fashion. From there the music takes a left turn into an alt-country, country/rock sound, somewhere between Wilco, the Old 97's and the Refreshments. At the same time, lead vocalist Pat Dube's voice reminds me a bit of the lead singer of Eve 6. The blending of the more straight forward modern rock vocals with the at times alt-country music is very catchy, especially on "Bad Days" and "Well Weathered". The rest of the disc is a mixture of modern rock and alt-country tracks. "Out of Touch" returns to the fuzzy guitar sound of the intro track, with pounding bass and swift drums added for extra listening pleasure. I pressed repeat on this song quite a few times. The slightly "lounge" sound of "Enamored" is one of the album's only real missteps. It's sound is very dated and has been done too many times in the past. "Never Come Around" sounds a bit like a Paul Westerberg tune, with more tuneful and pleasant vocals. Unfortunately the disc we received had a scratch, so I was unable to enjoy this rolling ballad in full. This was, and will continue to be, a nice country/rock listen. It has an almost 50/50 mixture of the two styles, with the two combining on several tracks. I would suggest that the band think about modernizing their guitar rock sound, because, as pleasant as it is throughout the disc, at times it's a little dated. The alt-country tracks were dead-on!

Shooting Rubys has a distinctive sound bolstered by solid melodies and harmonies, creative guitar work and a steady rhythm section. Standout songs seem to be the ones effectively capturing a mood, from the melancholy "Never Come Around" to the ironically upbeat "Dream Like You". Fans of catchy guitar rock will not be disappointed.

Every song sounds fantastic. It's fresh, clear, with nice tunes, good playing....love it!