Across three decades, Born Ruffians have been a pivotal part of the Toronto music scene. And in that time, music has changed, artists have come and gone, leaving their various marks, and while many artists look around and see themselves surrounded by new generations and fall back, the Canadian quartet has marched forward, always pushing for new sonic explorations rather than defaulting to the nostalgic safety net.

“Athena” is a rumination on the Goddess of War operating within the deep, dark recesses of social media and the internet at large while rocking a dance-yearning, poppy synth melody and a kinetic bass groove sitting just behind center stage. Their ninth album Beauty’s Pride is a testament to the group’s fortitude, maintaining their affinity for groovy indie rock earworms but effortlessly sounding fresh, bucking the criticism of “more of the same” and fostering new audiences almost twenty years later.

Beauty’s Pride is out now on Yep Roc Records.

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