Introducing: The Rubens
This Australian alt-rock quintet is making waves in the music industry one single at a time. The band is composed of the Margin brothers, Sam (lead vocals and guitar), Elliott (keyboards and backing vocals) and Zaac (lead guitar), and friends Scott Baldwin (drums) and William Zeglis (bass guitar).
Their debut single “Lay It Down”, released in 2011 was voted the 57th most popular song in the Triple J Hottest 100. The succeeding single “My Gun”, was nominated for Best Music Video in the 2012 ARIA Awards and was also voted as the 10th most popular song in the Triple J Hottest 100. In addition, the band received the Rock Work of the Year award at the 2013 APRA Awards for “My Gun”.
The band’s self-titled debut album, The Rubens, reached No. 3 on the ARIA charts, giving them both local success and allowing them to be nominated for Album of the Year in the J Awards in 2012. The said album has also reached Platinum certification.
In May 2015, The Rubens released “Hallelujah” which was the first single off their second album entitled Hoops.
The next single from their album, the title track “Hoops” was released in the same year.
THE SINGLE
“Hoops” reached No. 25 on the ARIA Singles Chart in 2015 and was voted number one in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2015. After its success in the Hottest 100, the single re-entered the charts and reached No. 9 on the ARIA Singles Chart in February 2016.
The song has also just been nominated for the APRA “Rock Song of the Year” Award, and has achieved Platinum certification. It’s been voted No. 1 in the Triple J Hottest 100 Chart, beating artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Tame Impala and The Weekend. It also reached No. 1 in Billboard’s Next Big Sound Chart. It has clocked up an impressive number of over 8 MILLION plays between YouTube and Spotify.
“Hoops” is a very catchy song that is still different from mainstream tracks with its unique and united blend of slow rock and alternative. The drums, bass and guitar all accompany each other so well that it almost seems like an orchestra, a rock orchestra that is. Similar to the bands’ other tracks, the lyrics are quite simple but irresistible with lines such as opening “bloodstains won’t make it matter/got good things/got you”. Sam’s lustful vocals is not lost in the song. In fact, it’s rather prominent. Add to that Elliott’s back-up vocals and it makes a perfect combination with just the right amount of sultriness.
The Rubens have mentioned in an interview with News Corp Australia, that they sometimes make up the stories that revolve around their songs. This gives the audience the liberty to think for themselves what the song is about.
In the case with “Hoops”, it gives that “complicated relationship” vibe, both with the music and the lyrics. A complicated relationship in the sense that half of the party is filled with uncertainty on whether or not the relationship that they are in should be continued or not.
However, even if you’re not in a relationship, you will find yourself singing and dancing to this song multiple times in day. We actually still got “Hoops” stuck in our heads!
THE MUSIC VIDEO
The music video for “Hoops” is rather minimalist with its all-white theme but mixed with a touch of Inception, what with the members of the band multiplying and hanging on the ceiling while the camera pans backwards. It is definitely a must-watch music video for those who can’t get enough of this award-winning band that they want lots of them! Like us!
The album, Hoops was released in Australia last year and topped the iTunes Alternative Chart and reached No. 2 in the ARIA Album Chart. It was recorded in New York and produced by the Grammy Award winning David Kahne (who has previously worked with artists such as Lana Del Rey and The Strokes), and mixed by the legendary Michael Brauer (Coldplay).
The Rubens have already made a great impact in the UK through word-of-mouth reputation alone. The title track is already championed by Radio X and entered in the Spotify UK Viral Chart at No. 7. With their second album set to be released in the U.K. on the 20th of May via Warner Bros. Records, they will only continue to gain popularity and success on a global scale.
They put a sole headline UK show on-sale last week at London’s Boston Music Room, which completely sold out within an hour. The show on May 26th has been upgraded to The Dome, Tufnell Park due to the amount of people that are dying to see the band. They will also be performing at The Great Escape Festival, Brighton.
Let us know what you think about The Rubens in the comments below or tweet us @CelebMix.
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