Ruby Feilds: No Such Thing As Small Achivements
Known for her gritty, raw indie-rock storytelling, Ruby Fields has been one of Australia’s most exciting songwriters since her 2019 breakout ‘Dinosaurs’. Ahead of her sophomore album Small Achievements, The Note got the scoop on what the record entails, her upcoming tour and not-so-small career achievements.
Words Tiana Gibbins // Image supplied
Congratulations on your latest track, 'Muscle!' You've said it's “an ode to the Northern Rivers.” Could you talk us through what this single means to you?
I started writing ‘Muscle’ when I was listening to a lot of Big Thief. The way I began [writing] the song was different to how it turned out. It was almost this soft, wilting country ballad, but then I started playing around with the lead guitar parts and came up with this certain line that became the melody that I went with. Then the lines, “Northern Rivers, alligators with allergies to indicators, keep the smash repairment busy”, was how it started.
What made ‘Muscle’ that right track to be the latest taste before dropping your sophomore album?
There's actually going to be one more taste before the album comes out; I'm a big fan of something being dropped the day before. I think all the songs that have come out so far have been pretty good at building the world of the album. ‘92’ was this real Men I Trust vibe, ‘Half the Laugh’ was more of an echo to the songs I was writing when I was younger, and ‘Tacklebox’ was this beautiful song about a friend that passed away. It was originally meant to be another song as the fourth single, but ‘Muscle’ just kept being the song that I kept coming back to and listening to. It was a song that brought me a lot of comfort to release.
You’re on the verge of releasing Small Achievements. How do you think your music has evolved since your first album?
It’s a tangible journey because I think the voice I've chosen to sing with, as Ruby Fields, is very prominent on those records. I spoke more than I sung on the earlier stuff, and I think you can almost tell that's a 16 to 18-year-old writing those things, those themes and those issues. I would like to think that slowly, as time went on, the content changed based on my age and what I was listening to. I would say that now, especially on this record, I tried hard to focus on the music as much as I would focus on the lyrics, because before, I was doing less of that. Every song has been really thought out. I would say like this album is a very big shift.
You toured with Ocean Alley earlier this year alongside Nothing But Thieves and Rainbow Kitten Surprise. How was that experience for you?
That was awesome! We've known the Ocean Alley boys for years and years. When I was living up in the Northern Rivers, most of them lived there, except Baden. They would always come into the pub I was working at, getting like a case of Coopers for when they were recording. So, I was always running into them. When they asked us to do it, we were stoked. It's just always a fun time when we're all just hanging out backstage. Their show is obviously incredibly well structured and put together, like it's like perfect without fault. Nothing But Thieves is one of my favourite bands ever. So, it was awesome being able to just like hang out and chat briefly to everyone.
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What has been your biggest pinch-me moment so far in your career?
There's [been] loads of things. One is when I was 16 or 17, I went and watched Violent Soho, Dune Rats, DZ Deathrays and The Gooch Palms play at the Enmore Theatre. I remember sitting there and watching everyone, and at this time in my life, I was doing cover gigs and writing all my own music, but it wasn't something I was 100 per cent sure if I wanted to do. Then as I watched Soho get on stage and how much their music was affecting everyone around me, I remember thinking “This is what I want to do.”
You're touring Small Achievements around Australia in April/May. What can fans expect from these shows?
The lighting and visuals have really stepped up. I've been working on designing those for a really long time now. The set list has definitely also taken a long time to think about and perfect the timing of everything. There's definitely a couple of surprises that people should stick around for after the show.
You've got Mac the Knife, Platonic Sex and Smol Fish supporting your tour. What made them the right choices?
Mac the Knife are really sick! We’ve been super keen to have them on, but the timing has never been right. We love to choose bands that we're friends with and we don't actually know these guys yet, so this time we wanted to branch out. I watched a Platonic Sex show in Byron and they are fucking incredible – all of them as instrumentalists are incredible. Smol Fish, we just played with in WA, so we just turned around and asked if they wanted to jump on another show in Fremantle. I'm super excited to play this tour with all those bands.
Finish the sentence: “This album is for anyone who…”
Grew up deeply affected by the place that they grew up in and continued to be a part of the environment and community of that suburb or the suburbs that they moved to. It sounds boring, but I think it makes sense. Maybe it might make people think of home. Or wherever home ended up being, because I didn't grow up in the Northern Rivers, you know, but I would still consider it my home in a lot of different ways. As well as anyone for anyone that misses home or just loves it.
Catch Ruby Fields performing at The Gov on Thursday 14 May with Mac The Knife and Platonic Sex. Tickets on sale now via oztix.com.au.
