I always get worried by second albums! Especially if the debut was a good strong one, which was very much the case with the Born Ruffians debut Red, Yellow & Blue. I loved that album, so when presented with the chance to review their follow up Say It, I jumped at the chance, albeit with an touch of trepidation. 

Now for those that don’t know, the Born Ruffians are (were) a college rock band hailing from Toronto. I say were, because since their first album they have dropped out of college to finish their second, a sure fire statement that they are in this for the long haul. Their debut showed plenty of promise with great songs such as "Hummingbird", "I Need a Life" and "Little Garcon", and gave them a featured spot on the hit UK show Skins. So in my mind their second album had a lot to live up to.

The opener on this new album is an interesting one. To be honest, I thought my internet was playing up, but nope, the stuttering start was intentional; beyond those early moments, the first track "Oh Man" is a great opener, highlighting a slightly more polished sound for the band, both vocally and instrumentally. 

This is a band brimming with confidence. One of the best things about the band for me, are the distinctive vocals of lead singer Luke LaLonde. In this second album, they are polished up slightly, without losing any of their individuality. I was also impressed with the instrumentation as a whole; the guitar work is great, the drumming consistently solid and the bass effectively helping drive the songs along.

The first half of the album is strongest, the main highlight for me being the quirkily named "The Ballad of Moose Bruce", it reminds me a lot of some of the more upbeat numbers from the first album, and really highlights the vocals and guitar work. The album comes across as being more consistently upbeat, there aren’t some of the slower moments that featured on the first album; though despite this, the intensity is somehow kept up throughout the whole of the album. 

On a whole there isn’t a whole lot that is new about the album in terms of sound, there is no radical shift (which is a good thing), LaLonde experiments a little vocally, such as on "Come Back", but beyond that it’s definitely an album playing to their strengths. This doesn’t detract at all for me - I feel that they have built upon a strong debut nicely, and they have plenty of time with their subsequent albums to experiment more radically with their sound.

The album is released on May 28th on Warp Records / Inertia, and is well worth a listen.

Review Score: 8.5/10

Download Highlights: Oh Man, The Ballad of Moose Bruce, Come Back, Nova Leigh