The Rubens originated as a five-piece from the tiny town of Menangle, just off the Hume Highway between Canberra and Sydney. The band has been around since 2011, launching three albums including the successful 2018 release Lo La Ru.
The sound of new song Live in Life is indie with R&B influences, with a very catchy chorus which melds seamlessly into the flow of the song; a quality which gives the song a mesmeric, endless feel.
The track carries a serious earworm of a tune that will either have you happily humming away for ages, or it will drive you nuts because you cannot get it out of your head.
The theme is a bit like the confessions of a seriously confused guy in a counselling session (or a monologue playing in the head of a recently dumped individual). He wants to die, but he wants to live too.
It all seems to turn out fine, with the subject choosing to carry on, singing, ‘Think I’m gonna live in life’. However, his mental confusion continues right to the end of the track with the lyrics, ‘If the end of the world gets me close to you, Well baby I’m finished’.
So, it’s a bet each way.
Live in Life takes the R&B shuffle of Lo La Ru tracks such as Woman Oh Woman and adds a whole lot more silky smoothness and flavour of the ultra-popular mainstream R&B.
It is sure to be a winning move when it comes to increasing The Rubens’ fan base.
