RUSTON KELLY’S NEW ALBUM SHAPE & DESTROY OUT TODAY
“one of the sharpest, most empathetic songwriters working today” – Entertainment Weekly
“his most hopeful, ambitious record to date” – Men’s Health
“heart-wrecking” – Stereogum
“sure to be an enchanting, emotional masterpiece” – Paste
“The delicate nature of self-reflection is perfectly demonstrated” – DuJour
“there’s nothing sophomoric about this post-teenage angst…undeniable melodies and enlightened confessionals power a quest toward self-forgiveness.” – Nashville Lifestyles
Toronto, ON – August 28, 2020 – Acclaimed singer, songwriter and musician, Ruston Kelly’s, highly anticipated new album, Shape & Destroy, is out today on Rounder Records. Stream/purchase here. 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. Across 13 new songs, he addresses these experiences and setbacks with unvarnished honesty, grace and conviction.
Reflecting on Shape & Destroy, 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.
Earlier this month, Kelly was also featured as part of NPR Music’s 20|20 series discussing the 20th anniversary of Wheatus’ Teenage Dirtbag, two versions of which are included on Kelly’s Dirt Emo Vol 1, released last fall. Read the full feature here.
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 received 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 asserted, “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 favorite 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.
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