RUTS DC PRESENT: ELECTRACOUSTIC VOLUME TWO RELEASED OCTOBER 20TH VIA SOSUMI RECORDINGS

3rd October 2023 0 By Jon Deaux

Following on from the highly regarded ‘ElectrAcoustiC Volume One’ album, recorded in-between lockdowns in 2020, Ruts DC returns with a second volume, cunningly titled ‘ElectrAcoustiC Volume Two’, set for release this coming October 20^th via Sosumi Recordings. Returning to Perry Vale Studios in Forest Hill, South London, the album was once again recorded by former Vibrators bassist Pat Collier and mixed and mastered by Greg Wizard Fleming.

Whilst Ruts DC’s reputation as one of the most vibrant and high-energy forces to be spawned from the late seventies punk explosion is assured, the stripped-down acoustic side of their persona has really come to the fore in recent years. From their first acoustic gig at the much-missed 12 Bar Club in Central London, back in February of 2014, to their sensational set on the prestigious Opera House stage at Rebellion Festival this year, Ruts DC’s catalog of songs lends itself perfectly to this unplugged method.

In 2022, the band finally followed 2016’s ‘Music Must Destroy’ album with their acclaimed new album ‘Counterculture?’, giving Ruts DC a whole new arsenal of songs to strip down and refocus.

“I must confess that, when we finished the first one, I didn’t really think there’d be a second ElectrAcoustic album,” admits bassist and vocalist John ‘Segs’ Jennings. “But, with the added weaponry from the new album, it all seemed to fall into place: There are no less than five new songs on this album.”

Gathering at drummer David Ruffy’s house with guitarist Leigh Heggarty, the band sat together and went through songs from the present, and the past, testing what would work well in the acoustic setting. Cherry-picking some choice moments from ‘Counterculture?’ they reached back to the original Ruts days to revisit ‘Backbiter’, the anthemic ‘Staring At The Rude Boys’ and a sublime ‘Love In Vain’.

These songs join a rewarding, but often painful look back at their 1981 album ‘Animal Now’, recorded soon after original singer Malcolm Owen’s tragic passing, with Segs taking over on lead vocals. It was understandably a distressing time for the band but over the years, the fantastic songs from that era have been reclaimed, and here we see ‘Despondency’, ‘Mirror Smashed’ and the rarely played (but much loved) single ‘Different View’ given new life.

“I guess volume 2 has permitted us to reach back into more troubled times, bringing songs like ‘Despondency’ into a newfound light,” says Segs. “It’s a balancing act of past and present to be sure. What once was painful, finally becomes cathartic.”

‘ElectrAcoustiC Volume Two’ is out October 20^th via Sosumi Recordings.

‘ElectrAcoustiC Volume Two’ track-listing: