LPD Artist Highlight: New Ruins

WPGU is very excited to announce that local indie rockers New Ruins are playing at Laughing Prairie Dog Festival on May 8th!

New Ruins is Caleb Means and Elzie Sexton on vocals and guitar, Andrew Davidson on bass, keys and drums, and Roy Ewing on drums. They’ve been playing together in some form since 2004 and recorded their first EP in 2006. That album, The Sound They Make, was released on Urbana’s very own Parasol Records in 2007.

So what do they sound like? With loud guitars and mellow vocals comparisons to Built to Spill albums (like Perfect From Now On) are dead on. You’ll hear some Doug Martsch in the band’s singing style, and the malaise J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) when the vocals get heavy. The band says they “grew up listening to punk rock and country music” so they don’t shy away from twanging guitars or rocking out with some feedback and distortion. New Ruins calls themselves “Small Town Midwestern Gothic” which certainly sums up the droning melancholy that makes Sounds They Make such a compelling record.

If you want to learn all the words before Laughing Prairie Dog Fest go to www.myspace.com/newruins or check them out at Cowboy Monkey on April 9th!

Be sure to check out all the bands at WPGU’s Laughing Prairie Dog Festival on Saturday, May 8th! Here’s the lineup:

LAUGHING PRAIRIE DOG FESTIVAL: MAY 8, 2010
Joe Pug
Jookabox
Yourself and the Air
New Ruins

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