Details Sea Lion

Sea Lion, the new album from New Zealand’s The Ruby Suns, bursts with imagery from the natural world. Classic summery pop tunes are appealingly coupled with a dizzying breadth of musical styles from African and Polynesian folk music, to flamenco, to eighties synth pop, to Disney movie soundtracks. Everything’s underpinned by a style reminiscent of US indie experimentalists Animal Collective, early Mercury Rev and Olivia Tremor Control. It’s an album that’ll charm the birds from the trees, invite them in for a cup of tea and teach ’em to talk.

Sea Lion is a hugely inventive album, each song bursting with colour and glorious, summery vibes. The lyrical influences are direct ones referencing Ryan’s experiences in Africa (see Ole Rinka – the name of one of Ryan’s Maasai mates – Its Mwangi In Front of Me – Ryan shooting the breeze on Mount Kenya with a guy called Mwangi – and of course the punning Kenya Dig It?), New Zealand (Tane Mahuta – named after one of New Zealand’s oldest trees – and Adventure Tour – detailing a rainy trip to the South Island) and California (Oh, Mojave). Whilst the first album’s musical hat was firmly tilted toward the Wilson brothers, Sea Lion goes walkabout with a rucksack full of ideas, revealing a joy for the natural world that’d put Attenborough to shame.