{grate 3} Born Ruffians are primary colors brought to musical life;
when exposed in large doses, they make you feel warm, fuzzy and just plain
giddy inside. With all the bouncy Modest Mouse-esque choral hollers in the
background and catchy “la dee das,” “fa la las” and “ah oh o-whoahs” sprinkled throughout,
the Toronto trio has something
golden with their debut Red Yellow & Blue.

If there is such a thing as pure, unadulterated happiness in
the world, Born Ruffians have found it and added guitar and drums.

The titular track starts off with guttural “uhs,” followed
by a tinkling of the ivories and a cheery fife-like whistle. Singer Luke
LaLonde then asks the perennial childhood question over a martial drumbeat, “If
I started my own country, what flag colors would I use?” It is a cute thought
that reflects the album’s simple, wistful and goofy feel.

LaLonde and company give a winsome approach to life’s
various dealings. The seventh track, “Foxes Mate for Life,” is their ode to
love, making us humans analogous to these furry counterparts by saying they stick
with monogamy ’cause they’re just so damn in love like we should be.

Alternating time signatures and shifting cadences add fun
touches to the tracks and help bring a thoroughly carefree feeling that leaves
you wanting a field to frolic in.

In “Hummingbird,” after a myriad of instruments near the end
of their noise-making, LaLonde and his choir exclaim, “Fly away little
hummingbird!” before the music collapses into an upheaval of various string and
brass instruments. What could better represent the simple juvenile joy of
silently stalking a diminutive creature and then scaring the bejesus out it?

Red Yellow & Blue was produced by Rusty Santos, known
for his goods with Panda Bear and Animal Collective, whose albums we can safely
assume the boys of Born Ruffians own. If you’re looking for Pan’s Never
Neverland, look no further than the Ruffians’ tri-colored rainbow sound.