Chicago – Australian rockers The Rubens are set to release sophomore album Hoops this March, in the U.S. In 2012, the five-piece, comprised of the three Margin brothers, Zaac (guitar), Sam (vocals/guitar), and Elliott (keyboards), and long-time friends Scott Baldwin (drums) and William Zeglis (bass), earned critical acclaim with a chart-topping, self-titled debut album. The Rubens’ marvelous mix of blues, soul, Americana, and rock ’n roll earned the band the praise of critics and secured a loyal fanbase, who anxiously awaited a follow-up. Last year Australian fans were first to get their hands on album number two. Now fans in The States will soon be able to hear this fantastic album, that will surely bring The Rubens even more success in America!
In anticipation of the U.S. release of Hoops, Best New Bands chatted with The Rubens‘ frontman Sam Margin about his sophomore album, the title track “Hoops” reaching number one on the Triple J “Hottest 100” chart, and his love of hip hop. We also played a 90s hip hop and R&B themed gamed of This or That.
First of all, congratulations on your single, “Hoops” coming in at number one on the Triple J “Hottest 100” chart!
Thank you!
I watched the video of your reaction on YouTube. What was going through your head at that moment?
[laughs] Honestly, I think it took about two days for it to sink in! We couldn’t believe it. We really couldn’t believe it ‘cause, I’m sure you know, but it’s probably the biggest thing in music, in Australia. It’s such a big thing. We always listened to it growing up. It was the best moment of our career… We thought we’d be in the top five because they wanted us in. We thought okay, maybe we’re the highest ranked for Australian bands, so they want us in, and obviously they’re not going to get Kendrick Lamar in the studio. We thought that might be the case, and then when it got to number two, Kendrick played and we knew then that we were gonna be number one.
I know you’re such a big Kendrick fan, so that must have been even more amazing and shocking, like, “What? I beat out Kendrick!”
[laughs] I know! I know! We are all fans of Kendrick. That’s the thing. When we found out we had to go to the studio, a few days before, we were freaking out thinking, “What does this mean?” and we were analyzing it in our brains. We were speculating. Then my brain would go crazy. I’d be like, “What if it’s number one?” Then I’d be like, “No, wait a second. Kendrick is still involved. We’re not beating Kendrick.”
This confirms you’ve surpassed the sophomore slump that unfortunately some artists succumb to. I read you guys weren’t feeling the “second album pressure” and were simply excited to put it out.
We started out thinking about it, but then we just shut it out.
Hoops has been out for awhile in Australia, but the album is set to release in the U.S. on March 4th via Warner Bros. How are you feeling? Is there another rush of excitement or are you feeling like “eh, whatever?”
I’m definitely not like “whatever” about it at all! We’d already had success with our first record in Australia and mild success in America. I think this is the one we’re really excited about, to bring out in The States… we’re all gearing to go and ready to start touring. It’s happened here and it’s been great, but now it’s time to head over and start working over there.
I had the chance to listen to Hoops. It’s such a great album. You guys are amazing! I read you spent five months near the beach, writing and recording. I also read you guys wrote much of the album while intoxicated, which intrigued me and had me paying close attention to the lyrics. In “Battles,” you sing, “Never ever fall in love.” Is this drunk rambling or do you really feel bitter towards love?
Thanks! For me, I’m a realist, but I’m a romantic as well, which is confusing. When it coms to song writing, I hate anything cheesy. I’m trying to get used to writing things that are cheesy because I think sometimes cheesy can be really cool, but I think I always start trying to write a love song and eventually end up having a break-up at the end. Or I start trying to write something positive and then eventually go, “Well it ain’t like that, so whatever!” Because that’s what happens generally. You either break-up or you get married. A lot of break-ups are going to happen! I just find it hard to write a song that’s purely lovey-dovey the whole way through… So, never ever fall in love. I think I’m saying that in hindsight. I made myself a promise in life.
Oh, never make promises! You have a new music video for “Hold Me Back.” Tell me a bit about this song and the making of the music video.
That song is about addiction. That’s one of the rare songs I’ve written where it’s not about a relationship. It’s about someone dealing with whatever it is they’re addicted to. Most people have gone to AA or are in it, getting through it, so that was that song. I’m happy that it’s not just another love song. And the video, I didn’t want to do something literal. I didn’t want to do a story line and narrative about a person… We’d been filming for years. We bought cameras when we first made our first record, and one of our cousins is a filmmaker. He came to New York with us on the second record. He’s filmed us around the world. We had all this footage, and we thought it’d be really cool to use it – we knew we’d use it for something – this was the first opportunity to use it for something. It was going to be footage of our whole career, but then we realized we just wanted to [use footage] from the making of this record. The house that you were talking about, that we went to at the very beginning, to making a record, and touring.
In “Bitter End,” is that James Blake heard in the background vocals? Or do you just sound awfully like him in that song?
[laughs] It sounds like him?
It sounds like him!
That would be cool. I guess he does sound like that.
Are you fans of James Blake?
Yeah, I love his last record that came out! I love his voice. His voice is completely effortless.
You’re all hip hop fans, and you’ve been very vocal about your love for Kendrick Lamar. Who are some of your other favorite hip hop artists?
We’ve always been big fans of Outkast, particlually André 3000. They’re really cool with making videos, too, when it comes to production. They’re sick! Pusher T, more recently. Definitely Pusher T! And old Kanye stuff. I mean, I think his last record was good. I haven’t had a chance to listen to his new one. He’s been constantly taking it back.
Speaking of Kanye, I’m from Chicago. We have a big underground hip hop scene here, and a lot of Chicago rappers make the mainstream. What’s the hip hop scene like in Australia? Is there one?
There is one, and it will confuse you because to anyone who is not Australian, hearing people rapping in Australian accents probably does sound weird, to people who aren’t Australian. There is definitely a big scene. [Artists] sell out venues. I don’t know if any Australian [rap] artist has gone over to have big success in The States…
Well, we do have Iggy, but I don’t know if you can say she’s been that well-received.
She is bad! You can’t do that! You can’t rap in that accent.
I saw on Facebook that you’ll be playing Australian music festival Groovin’ the Moo. What are some of your favorite festival experiences, both as an artist performing and a fan experiencing a moment?
Performing, the best Australian experience was Splendour in the Grass, which is a very famous Australian festival. We had a really big crowd. It was probably like 20,000 people. That was insane! We weren’t expecting that. That was amazing! To be honest with you, I haven’t been to that many festivals where I wasn’t playing, as an artist. Before I was a proper artist, I guess I went to Glastonbury. I saw The Verve play the last song of the festival, and that was pretty cool… There’s another festival. We did Bonnaroo in The States. We had never played a festival there before. That was such a different festival than what we’re used to.
Where I’m from, there are lots of festivals, but they are city festivals. I went to Bonnaroo last year, for the first time. It is so insane! It’s like a hippie commune.
Yeah, and it was super hot and dusty. But it was really, really fun!
Yes, it was! Before we end, I have a really fun game for us to play. I know you’re a 90s hip hop and R&B fan, so I want to play a game of This or That, inspired by that subject. Here we go:
2Pac or Biggie?
Biggie.
Dr. Dre or Snoop Dogg?
Just Snoop Dogg because Dre beat the shit out of a journalist. Although, I like his music.
A Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul?
De La Soul.
Coolio or LL Cool J?
Oh! LL Cool J.
Brandy or Monica?
Brandy.
Tony! Toni! Tony! or Boyz II Men?
[laughs] Boyz II Men for sure!
Toni Braxton or Mariah Carey?
Toni.
Keith Sweat or Ginuwine?
I don’t know the first one, so I’m going with Ginuwine.
If you don’t know who Keith Sweat is, please click HERE and educate yourself! (Sam, you best click on that link!) The Rubens will be touring the U.S. mid-March through mid-April. Keep your eyes peeled for news on Facebook and Twitter. Hoops can be purchased on iTunes.
Photo by Cybele Malinowski
Sarah Hess
After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.
You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.
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