Ruiners Release Killer Live Video
Ruiners. Photo: Marshall Forse Walker
In the last decade, there’s been a new wave of punk bands that seem to throw away the pop aesthetic that the genre garnered in the 90s, in favor of a more raw and intensity driven sound. In Houston, one of the better new punk bands going would definitely have to be Ruiners. Mixing post punk and punk aesthetics and thus sounding closer to a heavier Wipers or a mix of Wire and Stiff Little Fingers, the now four-piece has been on a tear for the past year. With a new record getting its final touches, they’re also on the verge of dropping a new release this summer of their new song “Plebeian.” The cassette that will be available through Houston’s Miss Champagne Records will also feature a live recording of three new tracks, all found exclusively here in the video below, and it’s pretty intense.
Mirroring the band’s live shows, the “Steamboat Session” that the band recorded live at Steamboat Ampworks, gives the viewers a glimpse into one of the better live bands Houston has to offer up today. The three tracks in order, also linked individually here, “One,” “Dhost,” and “Liquid,” show how intense they are when they perform and the video — captured by Ronald Jones with audio engineering by John Palladina and the mixing and mastering from aCr at Red Flag Studios — is pretty legit in terms of sound quality and capturing the feel these four bring to their shows. The video features the band’s current lineup with new drummer Joey Mains and guitarist Ian Hawkins alongside Syed Shan Pasha and Hayden Wander, who is still using the aid of a crutch from a broken ankle last year but still soldiering on and performing like usual. The proof is in the pudding here, as the band makes no attempt other than just letting the songs and their live presence lie on the table for all the world to see. The result is a band that’s as pure as the reverb echoing from the guitars, and the ferocity of their performance.
Clocking in at just a hair over eight and a half minutes, it’s no wonder that Ruiners is on their way to bigger things. The four-piece, who steadily performs at or books charitable shows benefitting the Houston area, has shown why they’re definitely a band everyone needs to see sooner than later. While the cassette won’t be available until summer, you can catch Ruiners when they perform Saturday March 11 at Satellite Bar. The all ages show with Houston’s football, etc. will also feature performances from New Orleans’ POPE and Austin’s Honey and Salt with doors at 8 pm and a $10 cover.
