RUSE Keep the Voltage Low and the Feeling High on “Susanna”

The Montreal project’s latest single sounds like a band tightening its grip and widening its reach. Following “Lie To Myself,” “Susanna” keeps the project’s DIY identity still front and center

“Susanna,” the single Ruse has been rolling out this summer. What interests me most is how clearly the project’s personality comes through in the surrounding context: a Montreal-based band that leans toward alternative guitar, indie, psychedelic, and synth textures. “Susanna” feels like a sharper consolidation of a sound Ruse has been sketching for a while, one that favors feeling and directness. The band’s DIY video rollout only reinforces that impression.

Ruse sound like a group refining their own language in public, and that is often more compelling than a neat reinvention. The best thing about “Susanna” is that it seems to trust its own emotional center without dressing it up too much. That restraint gives the single its edge, and it’s why I’d recommend starting here before circling back to “Lie To Myself.”

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out ferb on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist

What was the first spark for Carousel as an EP rather than a single or a full-length?

How did the title track set the emotional and sonic tone for the rest of the record?

“Tv Static” suggests interference and signal loss. What was the idea behind that song?

“Your Friends” feels like the most immediate track on the EP. Was that sense of directness intentional?

“A Strange Night At Dave N Busters (Kiss The Pavement)” is your most expansive title and longest song. What made it the right closer?

How did your self-production shape the final versions of these songs?

What did Csaba Laszlo and Roberto Angel-Dwyer each bring to the writing and arranging process?

Your own description points to influences ranging from 70s New Wave to Cowboy Grunge. How do those reference points meet on Carousel?

Where did you hear the biggest leap in confidence compared with earlier releases?

Did any song on Carousel change dramatically once you started tracking it?

What do you think Carousel reveals about Hotel Decor as a collaborative project right now?