Following up their hit 2016 album Bloom, RÜFÜS DU SOL return with their third studio album out today, Solace. The 9-track album is out today via their newly formed imprint Rose Avenue and Reprise Records.
Compared to the brighter and more playful Bloom, Solace overall takes a much darker tone, but it’s not malevolent or melancholic. Rather, it seems to begin where “Innerbloom” left off. That song, in the scope of the rest of the album, seemed much more mournful than the rest of the tracks. Solace begins with “Treat You Better,” a track that feels, at the beginning, like it would fit better toward the middle or the end of the album. But as the song progresses and steadily adds new elements, it’s clear that this song sets the tone for the rest of the album. Especially as it reaches the chorus, it presents a staggering fusion of hopeful warmth and sorrowful cold.
One of the biggest explanations for this sound is the switch from major key in Bloom to majority minor keys in Solace. It immediately gives the record a more pained sound. At the same time, it lead singer Tyrone Lindqvist provides a sense of dichotomy with his hopeful tone and lyrics. Rather than a monotone sound, this juxtaposition of sounds creates a swirling mass of noise that is all at once both upbeat and forlorn.
This dichotomy is unbelievably present in each and every track, weaving its way throughout. This balance of dance floor music and emotional ballad is perhaps no more obvious than on “No Place.” The undertone of horns and grim bass belies the otherwise happy drum rhythm and the backing vocals. It’s easy at once to be dancing and the next to be painfully cry-screaming the lyrics into a void.
“The record is more personal and vulnerable than we anticipated,” says the group’s James Hunt. “We had some of the most amazing times in the studio, as well as some of the most isolated, lonely times. That contrast naturally bled into what we were writing, which is why Solace is our ode to finding peace in a time of distress.”
Despite this general overarching tone, the final song “Another Life” still manages to burst forth with unabashed hopefulness and brilliance, transitioning once again from solemn to jubilant.
The full album is now available to stream. Check out Solace below.
SOLACE North American Fall Tour Dates (with more dates to be announced):
Wed 10/24/2018 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore
Thu 10/25/2018 Atlanta, GA Roxy Theatre
Fri 10/26/2018 New Orleans, LA Vudu Festival
Sat 10/27/2018 Houston, TX House of Blues
Sun 10/28/2018 Austin, TX Emo’s
Tue 10/30/2018 Phoenix, AZ The Van Buren
Wed 10/31/2018 San Diego, CA San Diego Sports Arena
Thu 11/1/2018 Los Angeles, CA Shrine Expo Hall
Fri 11/2/2018 Los Angeles, CA Shrine Expo Hall
Sat 11/3/2018 Los Angeles, CA Shrine Expo Hall
Tues 11/6/2018 San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
Fri 11/9/2018 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex
Sat 11/10/2018 Denver, CO The Fillmore Auditorium
Sun 11/11/2018 Denver, CO The Fillmore Auditorium
Tue 11/13/2018 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Wed 11/14/2018 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
Thur 11/15/2018 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
Fri 11/16/2018 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Hall
Sun 11/18/2018 Montreal, QC MTELUS
Mon 11/19/2018 Montreal, QC MTELUS
Tue 11/20/2018 Boston, MA House of Blues – Boston
Wed 11/21/2018 Boston, MA House of Blues
Fri 11/23/2018 New York, NY Terminal 5
Sat 11/24/2018 New York, NY Terminal 5
Sun 11/25/2018 New York, NY Terminal 5
Thur 11/29/2018 London, UK Printworks
Fri 11/30/2018 Birmingham, UK The Mill
Sat 12/1/2018 Glasgow, UK Queen Margaret Union
Sun 12/2/2018 Manchester, UK Academy 2
Wed 12/5/2018 Amsterdam, NL Melkweg
Thur 12/6/2018 Paris, FR Le Trabendo
Fri 12/7/2018 Cologne, DE Bürgerhaus Stollwerck
Sat 12/8/2018 Berlin, DE Gretchen
