Iconic ’90s art-pop weirdo Spookey Ruben is an artist’s artist. The Canadian musician of many hats — you may recognize him from 2010’s “The Adventures of Spaghetti Cowboy” video with Feist and/or “Natural Born Grannies” with Ariel Pink — has been cited as an influence by a panoply of indie rock mainstays. Some of them, including Owen Pallett and Chilly Gonzales, recently contributed to an Indiegogo campaign to release a 20th anniversary edition of his outlandish debut album, Modes of Transportation, Vol. 1, along with a brand-new LP. In advance of Modes III, due in April, Ruben has shared “Granma Faye,” a taffy-pulled jaunt through a Candy Land of sound effects: Crunchy guitars punch through equatorial percussion and shimmering synthpads, jostling for attention with ambulance and his own Auto-Tuned wails. Listen below.
