Some of the most exciting releases nowadays aren’t entirely contemporary. Sure, they have their digital, polished quirks, but it’s bands leaning on that nostalgic turf that are carving their names into listeners’ heads. Be it The 1975 looking into the synthpop heights of the eighties, or Suede revisiting the post-punk pleasures of their youth. But why is all this relevant? Well, we may have found a new bearer for this nostalgic flag – and it comes from an astonishing Liverpool-based duo, RUINS.
With one release already under their belts this year, RUINS are a band that are truly doing it their way. A release that stares grief and loss in the face, its haunting, gentle melodies guide the listener through a new-wave-tinged sonic journey. The single’s brilliance is headed up by its simplicity, nothing is too pronounced or too shy, they have the emotion and they have the meaning – two things that a lot of pop music these days misses out on.
Exploring the themes behind the release, they share, “‘Burning Library’ borrows its title from a book by one of our favourite writers, Edmund White. The notion is that when someone dies, a library burns, and all that information that has been accumulated over a lifetime is lost. At the time of writing the lyrics, I felt surrounded by loss. The song was really cathartic and helped me to process losing people in my life.”
