The new album by RÜFÜS DU SOL, Inhale/Exhalefeels like a soundscape as vast and unpredictable as the lives that shaped it.
The band's fifth album finds them imbuing their emotional core with even more depth as they pursue the horizons of what their music can become. After the dust of the pandemic settled, the trio, now scattered between the sunny shores of San Diego and Miami, decided to rebuild.
And in doing so, they found creative freedom like never before, leading to the perfect storm of atmospheric electronica. Inhale/Exhale is akin to the release of a long-held breath: a rush of sound that ranges from intimate whispers to roaring crescendos.
c/o Press
Opening with “Inhale” and “Lately,” they waste no time in dragging you down. The tracks vibrate with pulsating synths as if they've fed their sound through a prism. Lyrically, they delve into familiar territory with themes of love as salvation and a means of destruction alike.
That emotional duality permeates the album, but nowhere does it seem more evident than on “Pressure.” The band builds tension like a ticking time bomb, layering distorted synths and jagged percussion to create a slow-building catharsis. The song is mechanical, but its brilliance lies in that restraint. Unafraid to face the weight of disconnection, it's a song that reflects the band's meandering journey toward influence.
But even as they delve deeper into these thematic territories, RÜFÜS haven't lost their gift for creating festival anthems either. “Music Is Better” channels pure, down-to-earth euphoria, built on a foundation of lush layers of synth and uplifting percussion. It's a celebration of the kind of connection evoked by endless sunsets and twinkling summer nights, but beneath that surface bliss lies a deeper reflection on the power of music to heal and unite, an unspoken theme that runs throughout the project.
In other places, there are times when Inhale/Exhale, as in “Edge of the Earth”, where you can almost feel the weight of the band's geographical separation, but instead of fracture, it has given the album a sense of immensity. There's a certain kind of unease that speaks to the endless flights and pop-up studios in Ibiza, Austin and Los Angeles, where the album was born. In these scattered moments, the group managed to reconnect, not only with each other but also with the unfiltered creativity that has always defined them.
As the album comes to a close with “Exhale,” it’s as if the entire journey collapses in on itself, marking a moment of quiet reflection while reminding us that even in the strongest storms, there is always stillness to follow.
Hear Inhale/Exhale Below and find the new album on streaming platforms. here.
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