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RÜFÜS DU SOL
‘Surrender’
Album Review

(23rd October 2021)

Review by Paulo Faloni

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“Please, do yourself a favour and actually listen to the entire album, over and over again.”

At times I find myself working on finding different adjectives to use and describe great feelings, good things, experiences, places and so on… Now I’m confident if I say this is so Rüfüs Du Sol, it means: this is so freaking great, sent from the heavens, loveable, incredible, divine.

No, I’m not a fan boy that much, possibly a tiny bit and there’s a reason for that. Since the Rüfüs EP, I could tell there was something in there; maybe the water tank in which Atlas was brought to life, maybe all tracks in Bloom being perfect, maybe the flexibility to play huge festivals and at the same time warehouse rave vibes shows in some of Sydney’s most iconic live music venues. The boys have it all and the luck is on our side. We can follow them along this journey and appreciate their creations.

In Surrender there are a couple of aspects highlighted in both the production side of things and the lyrics. It’s a thing that’s been going on for a while now, the very organic sounds in their tracks, which for me, is a huge plus when talking about music production. Also the analog synth sounds, acoustic drums in some parts, a great choir, a different vocal lead which apparently is not Tyrone singing, and a lot about love and water, especially rain.

“Next To Me”, the second single released earlier this year, brings exactly what I just mentioned. It’s the first track on the 11-track album and starts off with an actual piano, very well recorded, so well recorded that you get to listen to the mechanics of the keys when each note is played. This is very much an RDS signature way of sounding. Following along, another piano part with a different timbre comes in, probably an electric piano or even a synth. The arpeggio that comes in after this first section, slowly building up while getting rid of the frequency filter, reminds me a lot of the vocal melodies on Underwater, melodies which, if I’m not wrong, are made of a vocal sample recorded in India (again the organic sounds making an appearance). Once the drop comes in, you have a fuller sound with a very groovy drum pattern, pattern which differs from the usual drum programming house tracks usually have and again, delivers that “hey, we’re out here doing something different every single time so our music just keeps evolving and being even more enjoyable”. I wish I could be able to express with words what the words in the lyrics can express. It really depends on where you are at in your life, it can be interpreted in different ways – if you’re in a relationship, if you’ve been in love before or if you haven’t. Personally, while listening to it over and over again, I felt like it can very well mean being in a place where you are at peace with your younger self, that one person you’ve had to be before, so that you could become who you are now. Stand next to yourself, be ok with all the mistakes you’ve made in the past, mistakes that shaped who you are today and regardless of anything else, took you to this place in which you can coexist with all the previous versions of you, knowing you were, are and will be imperfect but still a great companion.

Giving continuity to the idea of looking back at your younger self, “Make It Happen”, the second track, brings a massive great mood with the rich and full atmospheric pads, as well as the background chatter sound texture. For me, it speaks in great harmony with the lyrics that say “I look back upon my life, and wonder, what I might be like, if we have met when we were young, in the school yard, back before it all began.” This background sound texture sounds very much like a school yard, full of young souls playing, chatting and having a good time. To complete the whole idea, the drop comes with the following lyrics “love can change your life, love can make it happen” sung by a children’s choir. It’s a gorgeous moment, musically and spiritually, the weightlessness of children singing is simply blissful. The build-up right before the second drop comes in huge, with the pads, greatly sound designed bass (which probably is from an analog synth), the children in the background while Tyrone sings “hold on, I’m coming home, hold on”. The drums here bring those good old housey Bloom vibes, they’re great and sound just like Rüfüs Du Sol, reminds me of ‘Say a Prayer for Me’. To finish off this gracious track, they’ve also added another very organic sound of a baby speaking in baby’s language, which we as adults, can’t fully understand… but it just sounds really cute!

The third track could actually be the last one, especially if we talk about having hope of a fifth album. “See You Again” could very well mean “hey everyone, this is a masterpiece (as always) and we’ll see y’all again when it’s the right time for our fifth album :)” It starts on a very chill mood, quite danceable as the drums swing nicely and the bass line matches the pattern well. The vocals create a rather melancholic atmosphere while repeating “I wanna see you again” in between phrases that I could picture the places described such as “Doves flying high on a breeze” somewhere and then “strangers that dance on the street”. The echo emphasising the “again” flowing through the stereo field gives context to the lyrics, of “again” being something repetitive, that echoes through time and physical space and happens over and over… again! The lines that come after this section create an even better melancholic and tense build-up, that gets a massive release and resolution once the drop hits. “Oh no, what happened to me, life got away from me, life got away” and then “But a lot just changed, I know better than yesterday, I will find my way, Closer to you”. These lines are very relatable to me, as a lot just changes, constantly and also constantly we are evolving, being better than yesterday. Finding your way closer to whoever you may want is a constant work in progress process, you can’t just settle and hope things will work out, so, I felt like for me to be connected to my own self and be closer to myself, both the sides I like and the ones I see some improvement is needed, a lot will continue to change. The huge bass/brass sounds that come in are also very touching. It gives the drop a massive energy and creates so much excitement, reminds me of “No Place” but with more of a motivational mood, something that’s there to help me move forward. The backing vocals play a huuuuuge part of the drop as well, I love the line that’s apparently “fire” or “find my way”, I’m not sure, regardless, it sounds heavenly and adds another very emotional layer. Last but not least, the bridge is so contagious and builds-up so well for the last drop. I love how many mixed emotions I could get here, both a bit of tension and at the same time a feeling that everything is gonna resolve and be great.

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Stream / Purchase Surrender

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“I’m thankful for being able to witness such creations and also know that even the people I look up to, are going through the same struggles as me and also everyone else who’s alive right now.”

In “I Don’t Wanna Leave”, another track that could be the album’s farewell by its title, you can justify it by saying, “yeah, this album is great, I don’t wanna leave this moment here, right now…”. One thing I love about this track is the harmony when Tyrone sings the line “I won’t let the lights go down”. The pitched down vocals gave me a very futuristic vibe in great contrast with the track’s drums. There are heaps of very organic elements (again), some wood knocks and other elements that characterise what Rüfüs Du Sol are known for. The pads going on for the whole song are very tasty and the analog sound/texture fits well in the mix of elements just as great as the lead synth, which comes in after the second drop, hits right before the bridge, followed by a cool arpeggio accompanied by again an RDS signature bass sound. Both will slowly disappear and give space to the lead vocals and also harmonies building up a bit of tension before the last drop, good to hear a beautiful vocal, almost solo, performance from Tyrone here. This lead and bass could very well be in a Cassian track, I love how you can relate their music identity with other artists from Rose Ave, it’s very cohesive.

“Alive”, the first single released earlier this year had me VERY excited when it was announced. When I first heard it, I can’t hide it, I was legit disappointed. Not because the track is weak or bad, it was a lot more about all of my expectations than actually the song itself. I personally was expecting an RDS comeback with a huge dance/house track that’d sound insane live and would have everyone dancing (such as On My Knees, which has got a huge warehouse rave vibes for me and I’ll address it later), but that didn’t happen, so, as I said, I was quite disappointed. This is not to say that now I don’t like the song or it is bad. To be honest, it is a very, very well produced song in all aspects, there are soooooo many different layers and elements there, every single time I listen to it, I find a tiny little detail. The quite cinematic mood it has on the non-lyrical part of the production is so next level. It could very well be a movie score. I can remember people even mentioning it when it first came out as a snippet, which turned out to be called Alive (Reprise). Someone commented “this sounds like a Hans Zimmer piece”. The lyrics are very touching and I think every single person on earth can quite relate to it in some way, especially after almost two years of these crazy times we’ve been living in. “At least I’m Alive” has a powerful meaning, together with the idea that there are a lot of things happening, things which might let us very much down for quite a while, we’re at least alive. I saw it as a mention to the cycle of life. It doesn’t matter what you believe in, your actions, your feelings, your footprint will be on earth forever, everyone’s got a legacy, so, in many different ways, no matter what happens, we’re all going to be alive somewhere, in some way. This song makes the connection between their musicality with the earthy mood/idea this album has, even stronger. If you think about it, being alive in the ways I’ve just mentioned previously is strictly connected to not only being a human being, but being part of a beautiful thing called Earth and all of its complex intertwined dynamics. At the end of the day, nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed, carried around over and over again. Check this out, so far they’ve already mentioned: I wanna feel you standing next to me, I wanna see you again, I don’t wanna leave and now I’m coming back again. These are all lyrics from the previous songs, there is a big connection and mention to a cycle, not wanting to leave, standing next to each other, seeing each other again and coming back again. I’m not entirely sure it was all on purpose, anyway, it does make a lot of sense once you pay closer attention to these details and start digging deeper into the meaning of the whole album as a cohesive body of work that is connected musically and lyrically.

“Alive (Reprise)”  This is just as great as all other tracks on the album and it was the first time most of us met what was about to come out, back in April when they’ve announced the stadium shows.I remember exactly where and what I was doing at the time I first saw that video on IG. Great feelings, great memories. Definitely a soundtrack kind of thing, even though it’s very short, it has a lot of emotional dynamics building up and not exactly releasing any of the tension, but still being very pleasant to hear. It’s insane how atmospheric it is (just as Alive) and how good the bass sound design is, I absolutely love all sounds they’ve come up with to create both tracks, Alive and (Reprise).

What can I say about “On My Knees”? It’s a freaking awesome track and I cannot wait to see it live, in a huge warehouse with a whole lot of people going crazy together. The heavy stereo bass and the first words, again, mentioning something Earth related (rain), hit very hard! This is the one track I was hoping/expecting they’d eventually come up with so we could all dance to it and head bang. Although it sounds a lot more like a club track, the lyrics are totally on the same page as the rest of the album. Apparently an introduction to a plot that’s soon gonna be followed by a wildfire and then a moment of surrender, wishing for the rain to come down, shower me in love and once the rain comes down, the skies open up. This sequence of songs make a lot of sense in the way the band decided to place them on the album, there’s a story line here. When Tyrone says “Looks like there’s rain up ahead, Like there’s a crack in the heavens, Feels like my day could be turning, Like I can tell that my luck’s gonna change” I could visually imagine a huge storm cooking up in the skies and things changing quickly, towards a more serious and bad situation, which he then follows to clarify “If you could see me now, I’d probably let you down, But that’s enough for me, You got me beggin’, baby”. Although the song can have a quite heavy feel to it, what I felt was much more a sense of ‘yeah, things can get a bit f up but will just go with the flow and let it happen, that’s how life can be at times and it’s ok’. Because at the end of the day, it’s up to you to choose if you’re gonna sit down and cry when there’s rain up ahead or if you’re just gonna accept the things you can’t change and dance in the rain, no matter how big the crack in the heavens is. I love the brass/brassy lead once the drop hits, beautiful massive stereo sound cutting through the mix very well and giving so much energy to the song, just like pushing through tough times in life. Just like a classic dance track from RDS should be.

The next golden piece is “Wildfire” and I could imagine that, after a crazy thunderstorm, somewhere (maybe in Australia) could simply catch fire and eventually become a wildfire, just like the ones that devastated Australia in late 2019/early 2020. It’s like being super excited about something (as in On My Knees) and then coming back down to reality, in a slow and maybe uncomfortable way at first, that eventually turns into a deep dive into the understanding that things can be and will at times be out of our control. “Your fire is coming to get me, I know that I’m ready, I’m ready for it, I’m tired, I’m tired of running,’ Cause the burn in my skin is settling in, Oh, I, I can’t control you, No, I won’t try to tame you, So go live your life, You’re a wildfire, You’re a wildfire”, this describes very well what I said before, things are gonna happen whether we like it or not, the fire is coming to get us. Being ready for it can be the result of, as Tyrone says, being tired of running from it. When I face adversity in my life, things change, and I’m not in a position to always judge the change based on being good or bad, because sometimes I only find out the actual outcome of the changes and challenges I’ve had, years later. Even in the harshest conditions, in a wildfire, a situation that’s out of control, there are positive sides to it. A lot can happen and you can get hurt very seriously, but there’s so much to learn and eventually naturally heal from the fire burning the skin. If we take some time to think of the concept I’ve repeated here, about changes, existence, our connection with Earth and being alive in different ways, we again find strong references to it, because in a wildfire, most of the life is turned into carbon, which is chemically a very important element for new life to form and exist. If you surround a small growing plant with a bunch of ashes, that’s actually gonna support the growth of that plant. My point of view and reflection about this album is much deeper than just listening and settling on the first idea/feelings that come to mind or even what the guys described as their ideas when writing the songs. The fact that there’s an actual very strong story and concept that connects all songs and also all music with the lyrics makes me love this body of work so much, because it’s gracious when art makes you reflect about life and existence, in a way that almost nothing would make you think/see things that way. The constant tension that almost never gets released in the song is well accompanied by the lead at the end which sounds so much like those crackling sounds of something burning. The metalanguage here really stands out to me and is extremely cohesive with the band’s identity.

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“The work Jon, Tyrone and James as well as Jason have put together is surely one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard so far in my life”

That release feeling we don’t get in “Wildfire”, definitely comes in “Surrender”. Just as the lyrics of this wonderful creation say. Sounds and feels like the rain, this time lightly and gently falling to put an end to the wildfire, brings some fresh, enjoyable and breathable air. The same rain that feeds the soil to be fertile again and make life blossom out. “Rain begins to fall, Dust fills the air, Life begins to form, Water healing”. That’s exactly what the lyrics say and boy, do I feel it. The first time I heard this one, I was out and about riding my bicycle and can confirm, the weather in Sydney was very, very moody and the rain could come down anytime. How crazy it was, almost as if I was in the right place at the right time to meet this song and it’s glory. Rüfüs again made great use of an arpeggio for the intro until the drop with Ty singing and gradually being joined by many other vocal layers that at one point right before the drop hits, sounds almost like a choir again! I can visually see the “Shower me in love” as so many different things, the obvious one being a gracious rain in which you go out, open up your arms and let all the droplets hit your skin and bring refreshment. Coming back to the beginning of the album, where I reflected on how the lyrics can also be you having a chat with your old/present/future self and coexisting in a mentally good place, I understand this also as a self acceptance, loving yourself by being yourself and feeling relieved after going through dark/difficult times. Many times we go through hardships and no one else can help us but ourselves. We have to go through being on our knees and facing the rain, storm, whatever may lay ahead and be extremely challenging. Once we get out on the other side, we’re more experienced, we can share this experience with others and be of some help when/once they go through similar hardships in life, we can be witnesses of being alive, changing, evolving, excelling in our existence as humans and as souls. Life will, sooner or later, shower us in love, because love heals, just like water, and it feeds the deepest parts of the soul. Not only coming from others, actually coming from ourselves, from our understanding of our weaknesses and accepting them, from existing in harmony with again, our past, present and future self. Because when the rain comes down, shortly after, the skies open up and there’s a lovely blue sky (just like on the album artwork). For the second time (if I’m not mistaken), they’ve had someone else featuring in one of their tracks, this time Curtis Harding. I don’t know heaps about his music and his musical background/history but I can tell with confidence: this lad CAN sing! What an amazing choice they’ve made in having Curtis singing on this track, it’s wonderful how high were the notes he could hit and the emotion it translates. “Let the rain come down, Open up the skies, Shower me in love”… what else can I say? Just listen to it, you’ll understand perfectly. I definitely surrender to this track, on my freaking knees, with tears made out of joy.

James, the drummer, mentioned this recently about “Devotion”. “We were in Joshua Tree for about two and a half months at the start of the pandemic. And then we came back to LA and kept writing, and we did a lot of cool little day trips out to Malibu to write lyrics. Those were really cool, informative explorations for us—to just go out and hang out on the cliffs of Malibu and just take in the sun. And at that point, we were starting to explore lighter feelings instrumentally, and I guess lyrically we went in that direction as well. We had a lot of fun with this one—in the breakdown, we were trying to imagine it as an aquatic breakdown, and making the synths sound like they were made of water.” I can very well picture the very beginning of the song in my mind as “Drive, drive up the coastline, Stop by the shore, To stare at the ocean, Wait, wait for a calling, A call from the ocean, To lead me away, Lead me away”. I drove up the coastline before, stopped by the shore and stared at the ocean, that sounds very familiar if you live near the coast. The rest of the lyrics are a mix of expression of love for nature, the ocean and also an individual, “Waves crash on the shoreline, Kissing the sand, The sound of devotion, Stay, stay in thе moment, Surrender your hеart, And lead me away, Lead me away”. These lyrics are so beautifully written in a way that it compares a relationship between two humans. You can fly over the mountains when being extremely happy, you can dive into the ocean of a deep and meaningful feeling, the waves crash on the shoreline kissing the sand, the sound of devotion. That means heaps to me, because when you are devoted to something, someone, the regular happenings such as waves crashing on the shoreline, can have a much deeper meaning as in “kissing the sand”. The sound of devotion followed by stay in the moment is perfectly dreamed of, if you’re devoted, if you surrender your heart, all you wanna do is stay in the moment, which can eventually lead to the feeling of flying over the mountains, into the night sky and also dive into the ocean. These parts are so well connected and can be explored in so many different ways, that’s one side of the beauty of it. And it can not only be meaningful regarding a relationship between two parts, but also just one. You can think that when it happens in such profound way, two might become one, or one can become so much to oneself and allow higher flights, space to deep dive into their own ocean of feelings. Musically speaking, it’s very interesting how dense the first part is, compared to the drop and following parts, when there’s another arp and this time, this one reminds me big time of the track “Valley of the Yuccas” from Live from Joshua Tree. Devotion is another song on the album that makes me wanna dance, a lot. The very last part at the end, when only the vocals are present is solid as. It feels like they’ve finished the song but the crowd doesn’t wanna leave the moment and keeps singing it.

When an artist writes lengthy songs, you know they’re serious about the music, not absolutely focused on being commercially successful. Although songs of the likes of Innerbloom are actually extremely commercially successful, most of them aren’t. Only the great ones can stand up for themselves and write huge, over 5 or 6 minutes long songs. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and… yeah, Rüfüs Du Sol. “Always” is what I’d call Innerbloom’s cousin. Their similarities are undeniable, especially the break before the last drop. It definitely isn’t a copy neither there’s a way to compare both. They stand on their own places very, very well. The lyrics summarise a good part of the whole album, the chord progression and all music just sounds like a farewell song. Very peaceful and exciting in a way that you wanna dance but at the same time just float while enjoying Tyrone singing over the beautiful chords. I’m not gonna be repeating all of the aspects I’ve already mentioned a billion times in this review, all I can say is, this is yet another RDS masterpiece and you must go listen to it, like, now. Please, do yourself a favour and actually listen to the entire album, over and over again. It’s a lengthy song and I’m not gonna make a lengthy and detailed description of it, simply listen to it and appreciate the fact that it exists.

Overall, I’m gonna rate “Surrender”, the whole body of work at a 7,5 out of 10. That’s because it is a beautifully written album, very deep and meaningful, in so many different ways. As you guys could tell, there are plenty of different perspectives to explore here. It’s a 7,5 because my expectations were obviously very very high and I was hoping for a bit more energy towards a danceable album coming from the boys, and that’s on me. The work Jon, Tyrone and James as well as Jason have put together is surely one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard so far in my life Everyone else involved in it were in full send mode, delivering a great overall package – the mixing by Cassian, the artworks, promotion and whole atmosphere created around it. I’m thankful for being able to witness such creations and also know that even the people I look up to, are going through the same struggles as me and also everyone else who’s alive right now. We live in a time where we’re so connected and disconnected all at once, so the idea of unity, flow between us and our home Earth, speaks very loud to me.

“I hope everyone has just as much of a great time as I’ve had listening to this album and writing this review.”

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Stream / Purchase Surrender

Surrender 
Tracklist

Next to Me
Make It Happen
See You Again
I Don’t Wanna Leave
Alive
Alive (Reprise)
On My Knees
Wildfire
Surrender (feat. Curtis Harding)
Devotion
Always 

Surrender is out now on Rose Avenue and Reprise / Warner Records.

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RÜFÜS DU SOL
2021 Summer / Fall
Festival Dates

Sat. Oct 30 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre
Sun. Oct. 31 – San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands Festival

RÜFÜS DU SOL
 2021 North American Fall
Tour Dates

Thu Nov 04 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre
Sat Nov 06 – Las Vegas, NV – Downtown Las Vegas Events Center
Fri Nov 12 – Los Angeles, CA – Banc of California Stadium
Sat Nov 13 – Los Angeles, CA – Banc of California Stadium
Sun Nov 14 – Los Angeles, CA – Banc of California Stadium
Thu Nov 18 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
Thu Nov 19 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
Sat Nov 20 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Sun Nov 21 – Mexico City, MX – Corona Capital

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Follow RÜFÜS DU SOL
Website – Facebook – Twitter
Instagram – Spotify – YouTube

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Press Release 22nd October 2021 (below) HERE

RÜFÜS DU SOL
release fourth studio album
‘SURRENDER’

OUT NOW

Alongside official video
‘I DON’T WANNA LEAVE’

+ ANNOUNCE JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! OCTOBER 27

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AMNPLIFY – DB