If you're yet to be acquainted with Ruby Gilbert, she's a Brisbane-based singer-songwriter who with a debut EP last year - the four-track Dearly Beloved - put herself on Australia's steadily-increasing blues/rock map. It was four songs of guitar-thick rock that bridged the gap between that classic Australiana country sound and acts like Alabama Shakes, with its masterful storytelling and songwriting craft allowing Gilbert to blossom into one of the country's in-demand country acts; Tamworth Country Music Fest, Urban Country Music Fest, Caloundra Fringe Festival and others all enlisting her for slots.
Her 2019 thus far has been proportionately quiet release-wise, but she's kept the momentum going. In August, she played the notorious Gympie Music Muster as the winner of their 2019 talent search, and now, a couple of months later, she's making a return to the recorded format as well, doing so in grand fashion with a re-entrance of kinds thanks to Slave. Slave takes the work she's put out thus far and throws it into a new light, adding a distinct blues-rock percussion section under her music to take it to the next level, while instrumentally, it really bursts out of the gates from the get-go; the opening guitar being the backbone of the single's quick-firing duration.
Vocally, however, is where Gilbert shines and where that aforementioned comparable to Alabama Shakes comes to life. Keeping her vocal fierce and commanding for it to not be overshadowed by the rich instrumental, Ruby Gilbert feels on top of her game with Slave, all while presenting an all-too-familiar message: "Slave is about hating my day job," she says. "I also felt like a slave to the mundanity of day-to-day life and felt tied down to people and unsuccessful relationships."
She's launching the single at Brisbane's Junk Bar on November 6th (more information and tickets HERE), but for now, dive into Slave below ahead of its full release this Thursday:
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