American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalists Rick LaRuez is one of those people that can really inspire you to get your stuff together. We mean, he’s basically playing each and every instrument on his new record, he’s singing and probably he’s recorded it all. ‘Better Late Than’ is a collection of tracks by Rick LaRuez but it does sound like an album. You get the rock’n’roll bangers, you get the more mellow tracks, you pretty much have it all. Rick’s thing is an interesting mixture of alternative rock, grunge, maybe even punk and pop rock.

The melodies in ‘Better Late Than’ are catchy, the bass lines are punchy and the drums are simple but effective. The lyrics sound sincere and are fairly easy to learn and sing with. Maybe a bit more work on the vocals could have made them even more convincing. This said, pretty much the only aspect we’d like to see improved here is the production. There are certainly some mixing tricks that could be pulled off so the music and the arrangements become even more effective in what they are supposed to do. And that would be to make you move, sing along and have a really good time.

Being a multi-instrumentalist and your own sound engineer or producer can be a bit tricky because you tend to lose track of the details. So, this last one is a tip not just for Rick LaRuez, but for each of us who are struggling to do all the work – get a friend to hang out with you in the studio, you can always use a set of fresh ears and having someone to remind you ‘You can do that better’ is irreplaceable.