Ears Wide Open: Ruby Sparks

Kevin Bronson on May 20th, 2022

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“If only fear could make us curious maybe we’d have more empathy,” Jake Sternberg sings on “Realization,” the harmony-rich, state-of-the-world lament that leads off his new under the name Ruby Sparks.

“California Honey” is the second EP from the L.A.-based Pennsylvania native, who incorporates West Coast pop influences (especially the vocal harmonies) and dollops of alt-rock guitars in his songwriting, neatly placing it between eras and genres. “Realization,” which like the rest of the EP was made with producer Daniel Loumpouridis (Louis the Child, ZOLA, Nick Leng), asked a lot of relevant questions while addressing existentialist malaise and intolerance, not necessarily in that order. “Jesus would be proud / To love your neighbor as yourself until they ask to use different pronouns,” he sings.

On “High & Dry,” which manages to evoke Oasis and R.E.M. at the same time, he’s deep in the ever-conflicted California dream, staring at the sky while acknowledging “we’re all born on stolen land.” On an EP that also addreses the issues of masculinity and mental health, those are but two examples of how Ruby Sparks casts his gaze outward to try to make sense of the world.

“California Honey,” the follow-up to 2020’s “In Your Head” EP, is out today, with a show Saturday at the Silverlake Lounge to celebrate the release.

||| Stream: “High & Dry”