The Ruby Suns
Fight Softly
Sub Pop

Ryan McPhun’s merry band of indie shapeshifters has returned, but 2010 is a darker spot for the Ruby Suns. Fight Softly trades in the lo-fi gear and mirth of 2008’s Sea Lion for a raver sheen that’s as much downcast yuppie-rock as upbeat club-hop, with McPhun’s production dominating every track.

“Sun Lake Rinsed” starts the Kiwis’ new LP off with innocuous dream-soul that avoids intricacy in search of elusive pop “feeling” — a timeless vibe to soundtrack a late-night teenage car ride back to the Auckland ’burbs. Like fellow up-and-comers Yeasayer, the cheese factor of “Mingus and Pike” and “Haunted House” revels in New Age retro-posing.

On many cuts, McPhun’s genre-dabbling alienates whatever bubbly hooks were starting to germinate. Even “Cinco” — which somehow gives the Middle East some techno-chic fly — forces itself into a lame Enya breakdown.

Still, when the nods to McPhun’s parents’ cassette collection stick — as on “Closet Astrologer” — you’ll want to drop everything and start your own indie Phil Collins tribute band. The cut’s dated bass tones and synth presets conjure an ecstatic live show, which is indeed where the Suns always seemed most cozy.

Their studio wizardry and attempts at pop transcendence do converge on a few tracks, though: The intimate “When Kids Fail” is electro-crunch carnage that deserves a headlining slot on this summer’s festival tents. And ending with the hilarious image of “Olympics On Pot” — whose outro evokes the suspense of Nickelodeon gameshow “Legends of the Hidden Temple”, if acid techno had tainted it ’til the subwoofers burst — sums up the Ruby Suns in a taut, worldly package. Softly regurgitates 20 years of McPhun’s vinyl consumption with passive-aggressive glee; you’re allowed to dance, but strictly to his tune.