Shape & Destroy Ruston Kelly

• 1 In The Blue 02:33
• 2 Radio Cloud 03:32
• 3 Alive 02:44
• 4 Changes 04:39
• 5 Mid-Morning Lament 05:13
• 6 Brave 03:13
• 7 Clean 03:17
• 8 Rubber 03:18
• 9 Jubilee 03:38
• 10 Closest Thing 02:10
• 11 Pressure 02:31
• 12 Under The Sun 03:22
• 13 Hallelujah Anyway 01:32
• Total Runtime 41:42

Info zu Shape & Destroy

"Shape & Destroy" wurde von Kelly und seinem langjährigen Kollaborateur Jarrad K (Kate Nash, Weezer) produziert und in den Dreamland Recording Studios im Bundesstaat New York aufgenommen. Es dokumentiert Kellys Weg seit seinen Suchtproblemen und die Aufrechterhaltung seiner Nüchternheit und die Auseinandersetzung mit seiner Vergangenheit. Er begegnet diesen Erfahrungen und Rückschlägen mit ungeschminkter Ehrlichkeit, Anmut und Überzeugung in dreizehn neuen Songs, darunter "Brave", das Anfang des Jahres erschienen ist.

Im Hinblick auf das Album teilt Kelly mit: "Die Aufnahme dieser Platte hat mich definitiv gelehrt, dass ich nicht egoistisch sein will: Ich möchte etwas kanalisieren, das größer ist als ich selbst, und mich dem Prozess so vollständig wie möglich hingeben, denn diese Lieder werden auch zur Geschichte derer, der sie hören. Was auch immer jemand davon haben mag, wenn er diese Platte hört und hört, wie ich mich auf diese Weise ausdrücke, es gehört vollständig ihm."

Zusätzlich zu Kelly (Gesang, Akustikgitarre, E-Gitarre, Klavier, Schlagzeug, Sandpaper, Mandoline) und Jarrad K (E-Gitarre, 12-saitige Akustikgitarre, Klavier, Rhodes, Hammond M3, Schlagzeug, Student bells, Backgound Vocals), sind auf dem Album außerdem Kellys Vater Tim "TK" Kelly (Steel-Gitarre, Background-Vocals), Eli Beaird (Bass, Background-Vocals) und Eric Slick (Schlagzeug, Percussion, Background-Vocals) sowie die Background-Vocals Special Guests Gena Johnson, Abby Kelly und Kacey Musgraves zu hören.

"Shape & Destroy" markiert einen weiteren wichtigen Moment für den in Nashville lebenden Künstler, der 2018 sein Debütalbum "Dying Star" veröffentlichte. "Dying Star", das ebenfalls von Kelly und Jarrad K produziert wurde, debütierte unter großem Beifall der Kritiker und landete auf mehreren "Best of 2018"-Listen, darunter Rolling Stone, Paste, UPROXX, American Songwriter und NPR Music, die erklärten: "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.".

Außerdem verkündete Rolling Stone: "one of the most magnetic releases of the year,", und The Fader lobte “a uniquely emotional and raw collection about our ability to build a new life from the ashes".

Kelly veröffentlichte außerdem "Dirt Emo Vol. 1" im letzten Herbst - ein Projekt, das aus acht neuen Covers seiner Lieblings-Emo-Songs besteht, darunter "Screaming Infidelities" von Dashboard Confessional mit dem Sänger der Band, Chris Carrabba, im Duett "Teenage Dirtbag" von Wheatus, "Weeping Willow" der Carter Family und "All Too Well" von Taylor Swift, das von Swift selbst gelobt wurde.

Ruston Kelly, vocals, acoustic guitar, high-strung acoustic, electric guitar, piano, percussion
Jarrad K, electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, piano, Rhodes, Hammond M3, percussion, background vocals
Tim “TK” Kelly, steel guitar, background vocals
Eli Beaird, bass, background vocals
Eric Slick, drums, percussion, background vocals
Special guests:
Gena Johnson, background vocals
Abby Kelly, background vocals
Kacey Musgraves, background vocals

Ruston Kelly
Since making his debut with 2018’s Dying Star, Ruston Kelly has built a catalog of songs that search for transcendence in the most devastating and demanding of experiences: addiction, the strenuous work of self-evolution, the fallout of broken relationships. But in the writing of his latest album, the South Carolina-born artist found himself in unfamiliar emotional territory—a state of sustained joy and inner peace, brought on by a spiritual breakthrough and the dawning of a new love. Brimming with the grit and depth that’s always defined his output, Pale, Through the Window ultimately affirms Kelly as one of modern music’s most astute observers of the human heart and spirit.

“For most of my life I’ve felt comfortable writing about darker subject matter with a slight silver lining of hope, asking questions like ‘Why do people suffer, and how can we find communion and joy in the middle of the suffering?’” says Kelly. “Before this album I didn’t quite have the songwriting muscle required to write about joy more directly, which meant that I had to develop some new muscles and find my voice in a whole different way.”

The follow-up to The Weakness—a 2023 release that earned major acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone, The New York Times, NPR and led to his appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers”—Pale, Through the Window finds Kelly reuniting with his longtime collaborator Jarrad K, who also helmed production on Dying Star and 2020’s Shape & Destroy. The first body of work he’s recorded with his longtime touring band, the album centers on a singular sonic palette that often merges synth with pedal-steel guitar while fully embracing Kelly’s ardent love of classic pop-punk and emo—ultimately bringing a raw and potent energy to his soul-searching songwriting.

Over the course of Pale, Through the Window’s 13 songs, Kelly offers up everything from the somber rumination of the LP’s title track and the rueful longing of “Twisted Root” (an intimate look at his history with addiction) to the radiant open-heartedness of love songs like “Waiting to Love You” and “Wayside” (a euphoric but unvarnished portrait of love against the backdrop of a world in flames). And in sharing such an all-embracing account of his journey to acceptance and peace, he aspires to provide others with the courage to persevere through their own personal chaos. “If someone’s struggling with doubt or hopelessness because of the state of the world or their relationship with God or with themselves, I hope this record leaves them with the sense that it can be okay and that love truly is the most powerful force we have available to us,” says Kelly. “I also hope they feel at least a sliver of the freedom and joy I felt in writing these songs—even if they’re just having a good time bobbing their head to ‘Waiting to Love You,’ I want everyone to be reminded that the world can be a joyful place.

Dieses Album enthält kein Booklet