Music review: the love language by ruby red
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Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free _Mother Jones Daily_. THE LOVE LANGUAGE _RUBY RED_ MERGE Suppose Roy Orbison had teamed up with
U2. Picture Morrissey produced by Phil Spector. _Ruby Red_, the breathtaking third album from The Love Language, might well be the result in either case. The brainchild of Raleigh, NC
native Stuart McLamb began life as a one-man studio exercise, then became an actual touring and recording ensemble, though it’s always been solely a vehicle for his grand vision. On _Ruby
Red_, McLamb finally seems fully professional, and not in a bad way. With more than 20 musicians delineating his sprawling soundscapes, these ecstatic tunes could have been plucked from the
score of an old-fashioned romantic movie. While McLamb’s tantalizing lyrics touch on faith, love, death and other essential subjects, his stirring vocals—theatrical yet with enough
self-awareness to avoid cheesy melodrama—are the real reason to listen. From “Faithbreaker” to “For Izzy” to “Calm Down,” _Ruby Red_ could be a chart-topping greatest-hits collection in an
alternate, groovier dimension.