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Though it was released back in January, the Ruby Doe's latest full-length, Always with Wings, continues to be one of my favorite local records, with its hard rock and '80s post-hardcore sound. If you haven't checked it out yet, the local boys have four tracks posted on their website, www.therubydoe.com. MEGAN SELING
The Stranger

If the Ruby Doe keep producing music like that found on their latest, Always With Wings, they're gonna decipher the meaning of the universe via complicated guitar-etry. We hope we're there, head-banging away when it happens.
Seattle Weekly

We love the raw, unbridled energy of this band. Always With Wings is the first full length in three years to come from this Seattle band. Drawing comparisons to Muse, Fugazi and Hot Snakes, The Ruby Doe has grown from their math rock roots to incorporate catchy melodies with the power of urban punk. Look for them on tour as they work their asses off on the road in 2005.
Indie Pulse

The pugilist in me wants to train to this album. Whether it be for the ring or the mean streets, these songs are for kicking ass. All 12 rounds on this full-length are relentless, heavyweight hitters that come at your ears with teeth like Mike Tyson. The guitar lines are straight power jabs with the feverish drums keeping a constant barrage of body blows. The combination proves to be powerful and subjugates the listener to the ropes where a 40-minute beating ensues. It’s the kind of punishment that you not only take, but you will want more. -ST
Tablet Magazine #97

L.A. Weekly // Feb. 18-24 // Music Calender pick!
If the curious title of their latest, Always With Wings, on Loveless Records, doesn’t clue you in (the maxi-pad reference can’t be unintentional, can it?), then one earful of the Ruby Doe’s multifaceted grinds will leave no doubt — this Seattle trio doesn’t just rock outside the boom box, they blow it to bits. Nearly all of Wings' noisy nuggets — tunes like "Red Letters" and "Euphobia" — have a Motorhead/Judas Priest feel that’s intentionally grandiose but never quite crosses into Mulletville. Other tunes, like the ultra- harmonic title track (which, by the way, has nothing to do with feminine-hygiene products lyrically) and the crazy chorus-driven "Black Spots," evoke a more stoner-rock kind of magnetism. Their fixation with odd signature changes and beat combos may have put ‘em on the map, but these days the Doe are obviously more enamored with metal mayhem than math rock. Luckily, it still adds up to some potent punk rock.
(Lina Lecaro) L.A. Weekly

****
The Ruby Doe are Seattle's seamless, modest math rockers. After recording two CDs (for defunct labels or self-released), in their decade-plus together, the trio have locked into their strongest collection of songs yet. Always with Wings is an impressive indication of what years of dedication to the alchemy of sonic arithmetic will earn you--calculated twists and turns from the rhythm section, gradated shifts in guitar tones, and vocal abandon configured within an inch of losing control.Produced by John Goodmanson, Wings simply sears, keeping the simmer control on slow-burning melodies that break sweats with rallying-call choruses. The standout "Red Letters"--a live set and KEXP favorite--is here, as is newer material that occasionally flirts with prog accents ("The Rising River"). Tracks like "Cutting Ties" and "Euphobia" recall, as did Ruby Doe's earlier releases, a harder-edged Heatmiser and strains of D.C. punk. Overall, though, this is a no-frills, straight-shots-at-the-jugular rock band, as the menacing "That's Not Love" makes all too clear. The Ruby Doe's urgency is infectious, and here their fever is quickly spreading.
- Jennifer Maerz, The Stranger
**** Chewels
*** Bubble Yum
** Hubba Bubba
* Chicklets

"Not since Murder City Devils represented our fair city have we had such an accessible, loud, gut-punch rock band to call our own." ...read more
-Three Imaginary Girls

"This Seattle trio’s third album is an explosive combination of DC punk and metallic hard rock powered by taut guitar lines and an abundance of killer hooks."
- Don Yates, KEXP

Good rock 'n' roll doesn't have time to be timid. Just ask Seattle trio the Ruby Doe, a band that gets right to blowing out the speakers on its third album--"This is your hour/ It's not your day, no," wails guitarist Aaron Ellh on opening track "All These Good Deeds," backed by a racket that distinctly sounds like a 747 taking flight. Fleshing out the spastic guitar rock of 1999's The Flame and the Fury and 2001's Dream Engine Blue with big whopping melodies like "1 A.M. in the Emergency Room" and the fuzzy-wuzzy "Black Spots," the group has finally struck on the formula for post-punk gold.
-- Aidin Vaziri, Amazon.com

"The album doesn't really have any down points or parts where you think "I don't want to hear this anymore." Always With Wings keeps your attention. If this is truly the "year of the Doe," then that means it's going to be a good year.?"
-Samantha Nwaoshai, The Hofstra Chronicle

Luisterend naar The Ruby Doe rijst de vraag of we hier te maken hebben met de Jimmy Eat World van de mathrock. Waar die laatste met ‘The Middle’ de emo naar een groter publiek bracht en tegelijkertijd door de emoscène uitgekotst werd, daar kan The Ruby Doe voor deze tamelijk ingewikkelde muziek ook de weg naar een groter publiek asfalteren. Ze laten hun muziek namelijk wat natuurlijker en eenvoudiger klinken, hoewel dat niets afdoet aan het hoge niveau dat de drie muzikanten behalen. Ze staan scherper dan het kapsel én de band van Danko Jones en de productie van Always with Wings is supervet. Het derde album van dit gezelschap uit Seattle start en eindigt in de hoogste versnelling. Onderwijl horen we beukende drums afgewisseld met neurotische gitaarpartijen, zuigende rock-’n-roll en de energieke, manische stemmen van Jesse Sea en Aaron Ellh. Het alarmeffect in ‘Cutting Ties’ waarschuwt je ervoor dat je het volume nog maar wat hoger moet zetten, want als ‘Blood on Our Hands' van Death From Above 1979 je bloed doet stollen, dan zal dit nummer dat ongetwijfeld ook doen. En wat te denken van het opzwepende ‘Entry Point Exit Wound’? Het opvallendste nummer is echter de single ‘Red Letters'. Geknipt om grijsgedraaid te worden op Kink FM en The Ruby Doe's recht op een succes van 'The Middle'-proporties. Als ze dat krijgen, dan hoeven ze niet bang te zijn om verstoten te worden door de harde kern, want een krachtige band als zij doet het bij iedereen goed.
-Alexis Vos, Kinda Musik
(if you can translate this please let us know!)

Feature Article in The Stranger (Jan 1 - Jan 8 2003 )

Feature Article in The Seattle Weekly (Nov 26 - Dec 2, 2003)

107.7 The End - Seattle Music

The Stranger Archives - See the history of the Doe.

 

Press Clip Archive

"The fact that the Ruby Doe don't have some big, corporate label kissing their asses by now just confirms for me that most of the big, corporate suits listen to music with their heads up their own asses. This local trio writes really catchy songs, shifting within one set between radio-ready, pop- layered rock and messier, D.C.-sounding punk. They have their shit together, and their prowess is far from being a Seattle secret--bands and club promoters alike sing their praises. Hopefully it's just a matter of time before those kind words bring this talented act some label support."
Jennifer Maerz, The Stranger

The Ruby Doe - Dream Engine Blue (Hometown Tragedy)
"The second album from this Seattle trio is an excellent concept album about sleep and dreams. They dig deep into punk/aggressive indie-rock and see what they can do with it. They're able to do a lot."
John Richards, kexp.org

"Math rock’s elusive definition alludes at least to the calculated reshaping of progressive influences like Rush and Yes in combination with punk energy that threatens to spin things out of control. Such a label offers more than enough latitude to adequately describe the songs of this tremendously creative, addictive band. On Dream Engine Blue, Seattle’s The Ruby Doe slam through musical barricades with undeniable energy. The opening track, “Steely Mind,” grabs your attention instantly then barrels along with barely-contained passion. “Mechalepsy” provides the album’s best single example of the genre – dissonant vocals and piercing lead guitar alternate with a pleasantly rolling rhythm guitar line. The title track’s powerful drumming and ethereal melody line propel its insightful, slightly askew lyrics. At times you’ll hear Fugazi, Arcwelder, Jawbox, and Volta Do Mar as well as Cheap Trick and The Ramones, but ultimately The Ruby Doe come up with their own answers and they definitely show their work. The Ruby Doe will appear with Captured! By Robots and Bent til Broken at the Cowboy Monkey on October 30 at 10 p.m. Don’t forget your calculator."
Don Elmore, thepaperthewebsite.com

February 19, 2004
"I'd seen The Ruby Doe open for The Burning Brides, so I knew the riffs were driving and their vocals were ferocious. I was aware the Red Letters EP kicked as much ass in three songs as many a band can do in twelve, and that they delivered their Fugazi/Pixies/Helmet stew in a tight, precise fashion. I was not, however, aware that they would close out their set with a cover of Motorhead's "Ace of Spades." (Note: Covering "Ace of Spades" is very dangerous, because if you suck at it, everyone will know you're just a bunch of pussies trying to fool us into rocking out with you. Second Note: The Ruby Doe fucking nailed it. The most jaded metalheads were pumping their fists. That cover was the rock cherry on top of the um, rock ice cream sundae which I ate with a rock spoon. . . okay, that metaphor is dead.)"
Graham Isaac, Nadamucho.com

"It takes a special kinda indie-rock band to follow-up the Cee-lo mayhem and our pre-set imaginary onstage banter while filling the minutes before the set {How many pirate jokes can one expectant crowd take? Ugh, we don't wanna talk about it...}. The ever-sonorous Ruby Doe had the dubious distinction of "sharpest-transition-of-musical-styles-of-the-weekend" and pulled it off with great aplomb. The Ruby Doe pummeled us with their "Helmet-ized" no-nonsense rock for a good 50 minutes without pausing for a breath of air between songs. They seamlessly glided from one dense rock song to the next — with an effortless melding of harmony and testosterone, they nailed all the high hit points from their "Dream Engine Blue" release (hint: all the points are high ones on this release!). They ended the set with their immaculate signature cover of Motorhead's "Ace of Spades." I am ashamed to admit, The Ruby Doe had me singing the "Ace of Spades" for the remainder of the day. I finally stopped fighting it, gave in and proceeded to pull everyone down with me by getting it stuck in their heads too. In fact, as I'm typing this, it's reinfecting my head."
threeimaginarygirls.com

"The members of the Ruby Doe obviously grew up huge fans of the Who (circa '70s) and Cheap Trick, and are totally into playing rock and roll like it courses through their every vein."
Kathleen Wilson, The Stranger