Ruby Boots
Don’t Talk About It
Island
Bex Chilcott aka Ruby Boots, doesn’t let the grass grow under her feet. She has been no stranger to couch surfing since her early teens and has made nice with the demands of being touring musician. Having built her chops in Perth, culminating in a well received debut album, Chilcott packed her swag and moved to Nashville to conjure Don’t Talk About It.
If there was one criticism of Ruby Boots debut, it was to do with the confines of the sonic palate that makes up the alt country genre. Chilcott has broken the unwritten rules on Don’t Talk About It, as she embraces rock as much as she does Americana. It’s So Cruel pulls its dirty guitar sound from the post grunge frenzy, while Chilcott sings with extra vigour and grunt. As an opener it signals that her fans should strap themselves in for a bolder, more confident artist.
Believe In Heaven shakes the foundations even more with Chilcott digging deep to offer spirited vocals amongst the song’s menacing dark soundtrack that is brightened slightly by “foo woo” backing before descending into exquisite southern rock riffage. It is a song that Ruby Boots would not have had in the cannon a few years back and is the strongest indication of her growth as an artist.
When she treads more familiar territory on I’ll Make It Through, Chilcott has lost none of her knack for a catchy chorus. Guns-for-hire session musicians The Texas Gentlemen ensure that there isn’t a note out of place as they offer nuances that lift the songs beyond the ordinary. Always blessed with a formidable voice, Chilcott shows her fierce spirit on the raw and fierce I Am A Woman.
Ruby Boots has long been one of the hardest working artists on the scene, and with Don’t Talk About It the West Australian native has taken her sound to a point where she could comfortably rub shoulders with her idols.
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
