Hmmm intriguing. Potentially one of the strongest female voices heard in a while is obscured by a mass of beats, bleeps and laid back grooves.

Opening with 'Beefheart', which contains the particularly enticing line 'come play with me', it_is_ hard to avoid Ruby's obvious charm.

'Short staffed at the gene pool' could never be a contender in a 'most eclectic album of the year'competition as most tracks are of a similar pace and breath, but this is possibly an advantage. Ruby fill their niche mostly with success, never losing sight of an unfaultering vision producing some fantastic results. Managing to incorporate highly seductive whispers ('Queen of Denial') with vocals reaching the heights of sugary pop, Ruby cling to the threatening undertones so tightly the tension has to produce the odd shiver.

And it's the contradictory elements that make this album so special. Admittedly it's not without its fair share of faults, but it's made an admirable dent in my heart.