Today live-electronic trio RÜFÜS DU SOL has released their third full-length “SOLACE” LP via their newly launched Rose Avenue imprint and Reprise Records. Equal parts rock ‘n’ roll temperament and ethereal electronic soundscaping, the album shepherds the band into a realm of sonic exploration all its own. The tracks retain the anthemic qualities that have propelled the band into one of electronic music’s biggest live juggernauts, but from the offset “SOLACE” is their darkest and most introspective work to date.

“SOLACE” opens with the regret-tinged stanzas of “Treat You Better,” a break-out track that’s catchiness belies the lyrics that yearn for the simplicity of past years and second chances. RÜFÜS DU SOL has built their huge fan base on euphoria and melody, this release delivers both. The band’s lyrics reveal a very personal documentation of their inward struggles. It’s a brutally honest outpouring which can’t help but move both feet and heart.

It’s this duality that makes this record both fascinating and captivating. RÜFÜS DU SOL has managed to make an album full of kinetic energy and dancefloor appeal, and yet, it is cloaked with a sense of aching. The discomfort felt throughout the record is balanced by the welcomed lightness that comes when internalized problems are faced head-on, illustrating a story of self-love realized.

A sense of place and the sentiments that accompany it have always been a crux of the RÜFÜS DU SOL songwriting process. The band’s debut album was recorded in Australia’s idyllic east-coast while their sophomore “BLOOM” LP was produced in Berlin. These environments imbue the record with a certain mood and flavor, and “SOLACE” is no different. Recorded in Los Angeles, the record exudes not the Hollywood glitz, but rather the shadowed lest oft seen underbelly of the city as well as the barren but beautiful spaces of the desert.

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