Listen To Jesse Ruins’ A Film Now

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally arrived – Jesse Ruins’ proper debut album has finally arrived, and The Fader is streaming it all right now. A lot has changed since the CUZ ME PAIN label emerged from the shadows of MySpace – Jesse Ruins has evolved from a solo-project of Nobuyuki Sakuma into a proper trio. After signing to Captured Tracks, they focused on developing their live chops. After releasing one solo compilation for Captured Tracks, they parted ways with the popular New York-based label and, for A Film, teamed up with Sacramento-based Lefse. The bedroom-music community in Tokyo, which CUZ ME PAIN once found itself in the center of, has expanded drastically since “Dream Analysis” appeared online a few years ago.

What hasn’t changed is Jesse Ruins approach to music – the songs on A Film are still synth-heavy creations splitting the same difference between dreaminess and creepiness that breakthrough singles “Dream Analysis” and “Sofija.” Opener “Laura Is Fading” sets the tone, wispy synths racing alongside bass and a beat that hint at the group’s dance-music leanings. It resembles the songs on their Captured Tracks’ collection, and the majority of A Film finds Jesse Ruins creating intriguing bit of dark-synth-pop using the techniques they’ve honed over the years. A few songs on our initial listen jumped out as different – “The Red Part Of The Thin Line” – but we shall need some more time with this one. Still, listen to it here.