Ruby Vroom cover

Ruby Vroom

Released

When this album was released in 1994, it sounded like nothing else. Frontman Mike Doughty was really a rapper more than a singer, though one whose flow and delivery were completely unique and who used his guitar as a minimalistic rhythm instrument; the rest of the music was provided by virtuosic upright bassist Sebastian Steinberg and drummer Yuval Gabey, while synthesist Mark Degli Antoni threw weird noises and samples into the mix. The music was irresistibly funky and completely weird: tracks like “Uh, Zoom Zip” and “Down to This” (with its Andrews Sisters sample) should have been rocking dance clubs from coast to coast. It remains the best of the sadly short-lived band’s three albums.

Rick Anderson

Recommended by

Suggestions
Diary cover

Diary

Sunny Day Real Estate
Hungry Ghost cover

Hungry Ghost

Typical Sisters
Bandwagonesque cover

Bandwagonesque

Teenage Fanclub
In My Tribe cover

In My Tribe

10,000 Maniacs
October Project cover

October Project

October Project
Memory Serves cover

Memory Serves

Bill Laswell, Sonny Sharrock, Fred Frith, Material, Henry Threadgill
Starfish cover

Starfish

The Church