SaltyJon
So far, this is the only Ruins album (that I know of) which doesn't have an incredible bassist playing. Instead, it has no bassist, and instead has Ono Ryoko playing saxes and flute, hence the band name (Sax Ruins). All of the tracks present here have already been recorded previously by Yoshida in the original Ruins format, but this puts a new spin on things. Where the originals are noisy, intense, heavily distorted pieces of drum and bass complexity/insanity with bizarre, fun vocals, all played at breakneck speeds, this album is...intense, noisy avant-jazz style music played at breakneck speeds, and just about as much fun as the originals. As expected, Yoshida's drumming is second to none, and Ono plays a mean set of saxophones and flute. If you want to check out Ruins but don't want to hear the bizarre vocals or any of the top notch bass-playing, this is definitely the best choice for you - the only choice, at that. I expect that most people who check this album out will already be very familiar with Ruins, though.
The album is a lot of fun. It's also, as far as I can tell, much more accessible than the original Ruins style. I really enjoy the music here, but (as a bassist) I still prefer the original style. Three and a half stars is what I'd like to give this album, because it's not quite everyone's cup of tea but I think it's a great album for anyone who is interested in hearing some intense, high-speed squonking.