Róisín Murphy – Ruby Blue

It's time someone did a nice color vinyl 180g repress of this. Past time

Róisín Murphy moves out of the shadow of Moloko (ignoring the fact that she was Moloko's main draw and her powerhouse vocals were saddled to silly lyrics) and into her own spotlight, with Herbert jazz-glitch production gives her work more depth. And the resulting album, _Ruby Blue_, shows both of them at their best. Herbert's glitchy melodies (on the mysterious and dense "Leaving the City," for example) leaves Murphy's vocals front and center, emphasizing the eccentric quality of both artists. The music is incredibly varied, from the finger-snapping deep jazz of "Sinking Feeling" to the wild New Orleans-on-acid of "Night of the Dancing Flame." But Murphy really gets going with three stunning tracks in a row: first, the sweetly romantic and sunny "Through Time," then the straightforwardly funky house "Sow Into You," and finally, "Dear Diary" returns to romance, if slightly more attenuated and more danceable, with her vocal range going from vulnerable to powerful. The near-tribal and humorous "Rama Lama (Bang Bang)" turns Murphy's vocals into a rhythmic instrument itself, while the title track takes a wobbly approach to melody. The simple romantic sadness of "The Closing of the Doors" ends the album with a wistful sigh. Herbert & Murphy = a match made in heaven.

After some previous collaboration with Moloko, we can find again the incredible voice of Roisin Murphy together with the gift of Matthew Herbert! It's groovy, jazzy, sexy, eccentric and very talented!