Ruby Red

Stuart McLamb is one of those interesting songwriters who records under the pretense of being part of a band—in his case, The Love Language. However, he isn’t afraid to hire as many musicians as he needs to help a song reach its completion. The North Carolina–based indie rocker continues to blow the sound further out of proportion with the third Love Language album, Ruby Red. The intimate jangles of his earlier work are set aside for the full-on stadium reverb and epic attack of tunes like “Calm Down,” “Pilot Light," and “Golden Age.” By jamming together many instruments in one small place—with pianos locked down at the bottom of the mix—The Love Language sounds like a band put together by Phil Spector to create a wall of sound that's neither too retro nor too modern. In just a little more than two minutes, “Kids” pushes through like a tornado, throwing everything around it into confusion. “Hi Life” strips things back just enough to hear an earnest vocalist hoping to make contact with his audience.