By Samantha Nwaoshai

“The year of the Doe” has arrived, proclaims Loveless Records. That is big talk for a band that hasn’t even broken into the mainstream. More often than not, when a record label makes an album seem like a seminal event in music, the album ends up qualifying for the trash heap and the band is black-listed from all mp3 players.

However, with The Ruby Doe’s third release, Always With Wings, you can believe the hype. This Seattle based band (yes, it’s home to grunge-kings Nirvana) is one to watch.

If you are looking for experimental guitar playing and lyrics that might as well be encoded encryptions, then this is not for you. If you are looking for memorable hooks that remain in your head for hours on end and lyrics that could also serve as battle cries (a la early Green Day), then this is for you. Always With Wings could be a polished, studio version of a Ruby Doe concert. You find yourself asking “where is the applause?”

The first five tracks on the album are a steady stream of appealing catchy-punk. The first track, “All These Good Deeds,” draws you in like light to mosquitoes. “All These Good Deeds” is lightning quick at less than three minutes, and needs a really powerful track that can keep you focused and interested. In comes radio-friendly and crowd favorite “Red Letters.” It is the kind of song that can make anyone in the industry as well as the consumers happy. It’s not too long for radio, just commercial enough for MTV, but still has its underground edge, and the lyrics just call to be chanted at concerts.

“1 AM In The Emergency Room” and “Entry Point Exit Wound,” even though both sound like things that would be said in a morgue, are really fast paced and you can bop your head to them.

Finally the title track, “Always With Wings,” keeps the momentum set up by the previous tracks, until midway it goes into this solo and loses you throughout it duration. You may end up thinking that the volume on your headphones is out of whack. Other tracks to note are “Cutting Ties” and “That’s Not Love.”

The album doesn’t really have any down points or parts where you think “I don’t want to hear this anymore.” Always With Wings keeps your attention. If this is truly the “year of the Doe,” then that means it’s going to be a good year. ?

The Chronicle gives ´Always With Wings´, by The Ruby Doe four 1/2 out of five stars.