Been Doin' It for a Bit
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Been Doin' It for a Bit
| type = studio
| artist = Ruby Fields
| cover = Been Doin' It for a Bit by Ruby Fields.png
| alt =
| released = 24 September 2021
| recorded = 2020
| studio = Waiuku, New Zealand
The Music Farm, Byron Bay, Australia
| genre = {{flatlist|
| length = 33:27
| label =
- Ruby Fields
- Space 44
- Flightless
| producer = {{flatlist|
| prev_title = Permanent Hermit
| prev_year = 2019
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Been Doin' It for a Bit
| type = studio
| single1 = Pretty Grim
| single1date = 25 September 2020{{cite web |url=https://music.apple.com/au/album/pretty-grim-single/1531056620 |title=Pretty Grim – Single by Ruby Fields on Apple Music |website=Apple Music AU |date=25 September 2020|accessdate=26 September 2020}}
| single2 = R.E.G.O.
| single2date = 6 April 2021{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/ruby-fields-to-tour-nationally-from-this-month-2914333|title=Ruby Fields releases new single, "R.E.G.O." announces tour|website=NME Australia|date=6 April 2021|access-date=10 April 2021}}
| single3 = Song About a Boy
| single3date = July 2021{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/ruby-fields-announces-debut-album-been-doin-it-for-a-bit-shares-new-single-2992080|title=Ruby Fields announces debut album Been Doin It for a Bit, shares new single|website=NME Australia|date=13 July 2021|access-date=16 July 2021|author=Young, David James}}
| single4 = Bottle-O
}}
}}
Been Doin' It for a Bit is the debut studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Ruby Fields, released through Space 44 Records and Flightless on 24 September 2021. The album debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.{{cite web|url=https://www.aria.com.au/charts/news/ruby-fields-lands-debut-aria-1-album|title=Ruby Fields lands debut ARIA #1 album|website=ARIA Charts|date=1 October 2021|access-date=16 October 2021}} At the J Awards of 2021, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.{{cite web|url=https://themusicnetwork.com/triple-j-award-nominees-2021/|title=Triple j reveals J Awards nominees|website=The Music Network|date=1 November 2021|access-date=1 November 2021|author=Kelly, Vivienne}}
Background and recording
Fields recorded the album in Waiuku, New Zealand in early 2020, but the sessions were cut short when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. They ultimately regrouped to complete the record at The Music Farm, Byron Bay later in the year. The Australian Independent Record Labels Association said "The finished product is a declaration of individual and artistic independence that reflects the complexities of growing up, making mistakes, and ultimately making peace with one's fallibility."{{cite web|url=https://air.org.au/2021/09/29/feature-ruby-fields-been-doin-it-for-a-bit/|title=Feature: Ruby Fields – Been Doin' It for a Bit|website=Australian Independent Record Labels Association|date=29 September 2021|access-date=17 October 2021}}
Critical reception
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = The AU Review
| rev2 = Clash
| rev2score = 8/10{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/ruby-fields-been-doin-it-for-a-bit/|title=Ruby Fields - Been Doin' It For A Bit|work=Clash|last=Garner|first=Shannon|date=23 September 2021 |access-date=17 October 2021}}
| rev3 = NME Australia
| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/reviews/album/ruby-fields-been-doin-it-for-a-bit-review-3053921|title=Ruby Fields – Been Doin It for a Bit review: gut-punching debut from an indie-rocker wiser than her years|work=NME Australia|last=Doria|first=Matt|date=24 September 2021 |access-date=16 October 2021}}
}}
Matt Doria from NME Australia called the album a "gut-punching debut from an indie-rocker wiser than her years."
Dylan Marshall from The AU Review named it "A genuinely fun and charismatically easy listen" and "the edge of summer album you've been looking forward to after a long and bleak winter".
Shannon Garner from Clash felt that "the album is everything that Fields has built her name on – a modern, no-bullshit personality, and is an honest celebration of where she is at in life."
Al Newstead from ABC said "Each song on Been Doin' It for a Bit is packed with detail and memorable lines that convey so much more than their seemingly banal settings initially appear. From kitchens to pubs, backyards to bottle-os, Ruby is capable of being hilarious and heartfelt all at once, having you crying into a frothie as much as laughing over one."{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/news/musicnews/ruby-fields-been-doin-it-for-a-bit-feature-debut-album-review/13561644|title=Ruby Fields: still the artist you'd most want to sink a tinnie and talk sh*t with|website=ABC|date=28 September 2021|access-date=16 October 2021|author=Newstead, Al}}
In a review for Blunt Magazine, Mary Varvaris wrote that the album was "even greater than expected", stating that Fields created an album packed with "punchy, energetic, honest pop-punk anthems" with an "Aussie spin".{{cite web |last1=Varvaris |first1=Mary |url=https://www.bluntmag.com.au/reviews/ruby-fields-been-doin-it-for-a-bit/ |title=Review: Ruby Fields – Been Doin' It For A Bit |website=Blunt Magazine |access-date=29 July 2022 |date=21 September 2021}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Track listing for Been Doin' It for a Bit
| total_length = 33:27
| title1 = Song About a Boy
| writer1 = Ruby Fields, Tim Fitz
| length1 = 3:49
| title2 = R.E.G.O.
| writer2 = Fields, Chris Collins
| length2 = 2:59
| title3 = Kitchen
| writer3 = Fields
| length3 = 4:53
| title4 = Bruises
| writer4 = Fields
| length4 = 2:57
| title5 = Airport Cafe
| writer5 = Fields, Fitz
| length5 = 2:59
| title6 = Pokies
| note6 = featuring Adam Newling
| writer6 = Fields
| length6 = 3:09
| title7 = Pretty Grim
| writer7 = Fields, Fitz
| length7 = 2:49
| title8 = Ouch
| writer8 = Fields
| length8 = 1:46
| title9 = Worms
| writer9 = Fields
| length9 = 2:12
| title10 = Clothes Line
| writer10 = Fields
| length10 = 3:22
| title11 = Bottle-O
| writer11 = Fields
| length11 = 2:32
}}
Charts
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Chart performance for Been Doin' It for a Bit ! scope="col"| Chart (2021) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{album chart|Australia|1|artist=Ruby Fields|album=Been Doin' It for a Bit|rowheader=true|access-date=16 October 2021|refname=Australia}} |