Minneapolis / St. Paul Music Blog

​ The Ruby Suns opened for the Dodos, their effervescent brand of New Zealand psych pop starting the night on a festive note. Frontman Ryan McPhun is originally from California, but he played the part of the endearing foreigner consummately, speaking with a thick accent and asking innocently whether anyone in the audience disliked the Yankees. As if to emphasize their fun-loving intentions, the band even strung Christmas lights across their instruments.



Such obscurements were appropriate for a band that writes lush melodies and insists on exploding them at every opportunity, inserting frequent interludes and near non sequiturs before any song gains too much momentum. The result is a patchwork of indie and international flavors, and last night the Ruby Suns placed the emphasis firmly on the latter. "Oh Mojave," their most recognizable song, was transformed into a salsa, riffing around a party groove and singalong Os Mutantes choruses as the band members passed around their instruments.

After a jubilant version of "Tane Mahuta," the Ruby Suns rounded off their set with "Kenya Dig It?," its swaggering Madchester bassline, processed keyboards, and looped atmospherics warped into a Caribbean celebration.