Acclaimed singer, songwriter and musician, Ruston Kelly,will release his highly anticipated new album, Shape & Destroy, August 28 on Rounder Records (pre-order here). In advance of the release, Kelly’s new song, Rubber, is debuting today. Watch/share the official music video here.
Alongside the album announcement, Kelly is featured in an exclusive, in-depth profile today at Entertainment Weekly. Read the full article here. Of the album, Entertainment Weeklypraises, “There are little reminders woven all across the songs of Shape & Destroy…Reminders to have grace, to be forgiving to yourself and others, and to stay sober when your brain is screaming for reprieve. Profound reminders that life itself can be beautiful, even when the walls around us are caving in” and continues describing Kelly as, “one of the sharpest, most empathetic songwriters working today.”
Co-produced by Kelly and longtime collaborator, Jarrad K (Kate Nash, Weezer) and recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios in upstate New York, Shape & Destroy documents Kelly’s journey through maintaining his sobriety and facing his past. He addresses these experiences and setbacks with unvarnished honesty, grace and conviction across thirteen new songs including Brave, which premiered earlier this year to critical acclaim – Men’s Health proclaimed, “Be prepared: this song is a sledgehammer straight to your heart,” while Rolling Stone declared, “poignant.”
Reflecting on the album, Kelly shares, “Making this record definitely taught me that I don’t want to be selfish: I want to channel something larger than myself and give myself to the process as fully as possible, because these songs also become the story of whoever hears them. Whatever someone might get out of listening to this record and hearing me express myself in this way, it’s completely theirs.”
In addition to Kelly (vocals, acoustic guitar, high-strung acoustic, electric guitar, piano, percussion, sandpaper, mandolin) and Jarrad K (electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, piano, Rhodes, Hammond M3, percussion, student bells, background vocals), the album also features Kelly’s father Tim “TK” Kelly (steel guitar, background vocals), Eli Beaird (bass, background vocals) and Eric Slick (drums, percussion, background vocals) as well as special guests Gena Johnson, Abby Kelly and Kacey Musgraves on background vocals.
Shape & Destroy marks yet another breakthrough moment for the Nashville-based artist, who released his full-length debut album, Dying Star, in 2018. Also co-produced by Kelly and Jarrad K, Dying Star debuted to widespread critical acclaim and landed on several Best of 2018 lists including Rolling Stone, Paste, UPROXX, American Songwriter and NPR Music, which declared, “Kelly digs down deep on Dying Star to fearlessly put forth a set of songs steeped in emotional twists, turns and complications…This here is powerful stuff.”Additionally, Rolling Stone proclaimed, “one of the most magnetic releases of the year,” and The Fader praised, “a uniquely emotional and raw collection about our ability to build a new life from the ashes.” Kelly also released Dirt Emo Vol. 1 this past fall – a project consisting of eight new covers of his favourite emo songs including Dashboard Confessional’s, Screaming Infidelities, featuring the band’s lead singer Chris Carrabba, Wheatus’, Teenage Dirtbag, The Carter Family’s, Weeping Willow and Taylor Swift’s, All Too Well, which earned praise from Swift herself.
SHAPE & DESTROY TRACK LIST:
1. In The Blue
2. Radio Cloud
3. Alive
4. Changes
5. Mid-Morning Lament
6. Brave
7. Clean
8. Rubber
9. Jubilee
10. Closest Thing
11. Pressure
12. Under The Sun
13. Hallelujah Anyway
