Record Rack

*** Ruby, “Short-Staffed at the Gene Pool,” Thirsty Ear. Six years ago, Ruby (a.k.a. Lesley Rankine) made a noteworthy progression from industrial to electronic music with “Salt Peter.” Finally returning, she takes another impressive step forward with the sophisticated, versatile “Short-Staffed.” Using keyboards as the foundation, Ruby fills out the music with elements of jazz, pop, funk and dance. Six years is a long time to be away, but the confidence and maturity displayed here indicate it was time well spent.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.