RUFUS DU SOLSydney band Rüfüs Du Sol remain tied to a sound that is growing increasingly difficult to invigorate. While the trio’s first two records rode a wave of success with their electronic sound, the rise and fall of tropical house has left them adrift among a sea of imitators struggling to distinguish themselves in this post-Chainsmokers world.
There are certainly some attempts at experimentation on this record, although Solace is a melancholy and introspective album that does not play to the group’s strengths. Instead, it often sounds like they are trying to approximate the mournful qualities of LCD Soundsystem’s Someone Great — there’s a wider range of textures in the production, although singer Tyrone Lindqvist does not yet possess the songwriting skills to execute an effective imitation. The album’s final two tracks are welcome exceptions, a plaintive ballad followed by a sparkling elegy that swells and recedes until it disintegrates.
Language, however, has never been the group’s central concern. Rather, their strength has always been as a dance band who capitalise on the physical and sensory experience of dance music. While the lack of variation in tone and subject matter quickly grows tiresome, there are surely enough hooks and new production techniques to keep fans interested.
