| Say It | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Born Ruffians | ||||
| Released | June 1, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | Fall 2009 Canada |
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| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Label | Warp Paper Bag Records |
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| Born Ruffians chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| BLARE Magazine | [2] |
| Consequence of Sound | [3] |
| Drowned in Sound | (8/10)[4] |
| Exclaim | (positive)[5] |
| NME | (7/10)[6] |
| The Phoenix | [7] |
| Prefix | (7/10)[8] |
| Pitchfork Media | (3.8/10)[9] |
| Spinner.com | (positive)[10] |
| TORO | [11] |
Say It is the second studio album by Canadian rock band Born Ruffians, released on June 1, 2010, by Paper Bag Records in Canada and Warp Records worldwide.[12]
The album was recorded in Toronto and mastered in Brooklyn.[13] The band’s first single off the album is “What to Say." [14]
Contents |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Oh Man" | 4:03 |
| 2. | "Retard Canard" | 4:22 |
| 3. | "Sole Brother" | 4:25 |
| 4. | "What To Say" | 4:32 |
| 5. | "The Ballad Of Moose Bruce" | 3:53 |
| 6. | "Higher & Higher" | 3:33 |
| 7. | "Come Back" | 3:46 |
| 8. | "Nova-Leigh" | 4:15 |
| 9. | "Blood, The Sun & Water" | 2:54 |
| 10. | "At Home Now" | 2:58 |
As Born Ruffians confirmed the upcoming release of the album, they announced their intentions for the new album: "If Born Ruffians’ 2008 debut album Red Yellow and Blue was the result of a talented and precocious gang of freshmen, their 2010 follow-up, Say It, would be the project they left school to finish — a declaration that they’re smart and ambitious enough to make it on their own, and furthermore, that they’re in it for the long haul."[15] Of hopes for the album, Luke Lalonde said, “We don’t want to leave little mistakes on, we want to make it sound pretty clean and pop-music friendly. We’re trying to make a hit record but in the most genuine way-- We just want it to sound like us live … but better.” [16]
The album's name emerged after a riff among the band's members. "'We had a therapeutic talk and put everything on the table,' Lalonde explains. 'We toured too much I think. A lot of stress within our band built up and got blown out of proportion.' They vowed to never let issues go unsaid ever again. To, you know, just say it. 'So Say It has a lot of lyrics about communication and the difficulties of articulating ideas … like I’ve had talking to you this whole time,' Lalonde says. 'That’s our new philosophy, to talk about things before they happen, so we know that we’re on the same page.' [17]
Say It received a mixed critical reception, with an aggregated rating of 66/100 on Metacritic. Drowned in Sound stated that it was "much more cohesive than its predecessor" and "a much improved piece of art" compared to Red, Yellow & Blue.[22] However Pitchfork described it as "amateurish" and claimed it sounded "rushed and half-finished".[23]