BORN RUFFIANS’ NEW SINGLE “MEAN TIME” IS HYPNOTIC AND URGENT SYNTH-DRIVEN ALT ROCK

The four-piece Canadian band Born Ruffians throw out phrases and ideas in “Mean Times,” posing questions about what goes in the void and spaces of life.

In the band’s bio, “Mean Time” is defined as an autobiographical/speculative non-fiction inspired by Nabokov’s autobiography Speak, Memory.” To quote the author: “Our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.”

The melodic, irresistible, danceable single, according to Luke Lalonde, the band’s singer/guitarist, has become the statement for ‘Beauty’s Pride,’ their upcoming LP due for release in June.

“Mean Tine” sums up many lyrical themes Lalonde said he went through then. Foremost in his mind is the pending birth of his firstborn child with his pregnant wife.

The open-ended visuals in the video show a single line drawn on a chalkboard with the track of music playing in the background. The poignant and thought-provoking lyrics appear at the bottom of the screen line by line.

“Mean Times” isn’t a song that offers answers or tries to solve problems or fix situations that life always tends to do for almost everyone. Instead, it is a cathartic and therapeutic exercise that’s a free form and a creative exploration of sound and words put together in a moving single.

“Mean Time” encapsulates the experiences of the principal songwriter, reaching for meaningful and cathartic expression.