Formerly of the aggressive feminist punk outfit Silverfish,
Leslie Rankine renamed herself
Ruby in 1995 and changed her musical tactics. Instead of hard-edged post-punk,
Ruby's music is a dark, eerie fusion of trip-hop and industrial, with quietly menacing beats and droning synths. Although it could be said that she was simply trend-hopping with
Salt Peter,
Ruby's music is substantially better than Silverfish -- it's more provocative, as well as better written. Not all of the album works, but
Salt Peter remains a promising debut. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine