Ever the energetic bunch, the latest album from The Chris Ruben Band doesn’t shy one bit in taking that psychedelic garage energy to the next level. ‘Take The Ride’ very much compels the listener to hop along and surrender themselves to the journey. Funk driven and pulsating from back to front, Chris Ruben’s claim to fame is the sheer power and drive that his group is able to deliver with such fervent enthusiasm. From the titular and opening piece of ‘Take The Ride’, you’re jumping onto a monster truck that’s relentlessly powerful and scintillatingly exciting. The jumps, the highs, the lows, all taking the shape of electric solos, slick vocals, and an otherwise ever rambunctious drum set up makes for the kind of rock music you want to inject into your veins.
There isn’t a lull moment to be had on ‘Take The Ride’, continually just upping the ante with increasingly energetic pieces of funk driven garage rock that have you head banging end to end. The perhaps slightly more mellow opening of ‘Held So Tight’ works for the smoothness and seductive nature of the riff. But even here, the song incorporates a solo that moves at you with such obnoxiously powerful speed and character that it can’t at all be taken as a lull or sullen moment. Undoubtedly, the riffs and solos on each track are an indisputable highlight. There’s character to them as much as there is dexterity.
Garage rock needs a revival that’s got style, that’s got swagger, and that carries itself with passion. The Chris Ruben Band are on track to course forward and take it to the next level.