Ruston Kelly - Shape & Destroy (August 28, 2020) Album • Page 9

Yeah, Country Sleep. After that he made IVYWILD, which is comically bad.

I hadn't thought of that comparison, but I definitely hear it. "TENN" from that record is a dead-ringer for what Ruston is doing here.

 

Missed out on my first listen this morning. I’ll be sure to listen to this outside tomorrow morning with the blackest of coffee, overcast skies, and 65 degree weather. That’s how I like to listen to Ruston.

 

Looked up that track after you mentioned it to refresh my memory and couldn't agree more.

Elsewhere on this record, the melody of the verses of "Changes" reminds me of "Hang Me in the Tulsa County Stars."

Anyway I like this album a whole lot, probably more of an instant impact on me than Dying Star. I think this one is gonna have a ton of staying power

 

I can hear some Moreland on here too, a lot more than the last record. Glad you’re digging it!

 

This album is fucking phenomenal.

Holy shit that line at the end of "Alive" hits hard in a meta sense.

 

Hah... Strange to click on this thread and see you guys talking about this. I just listened to the new Night Beds song "Lovers Ledge" which I actually really liked.

But yeah IVYWILD was really bad (though I did like "Me, Liquor, and God").

Every Fire; Every Joy and Country Sleep are all timers for me. Like.. really really high up there. I think actually prefer the EP these days.

Can't think of another artist that dropped so far so quickly for me. Based on the new song I think he's got some good stuff left in him though.

 

“Ramona” was such a good song. I should listen to that album again tonight

 

The chorus of changes is fucking fire

 

Faithful Heights into Ramona is so damn good. The whole album flows incredibly well..

Give the EP from 2012 a listen! I don't see how someone who likes Country Sleep wouldn't enjoy it. Never see anyone talk about it.

 

This probably goes without saying but this is really gonna come alive when the colder weather starts hittin

 

I honestly haven't listened to anything from Night Beds since IVYWILD. That cycle really rubbed me the wrong way, from him acting like he had discovered something "cooler" than his alt-country/folk roots with his shitty pop music, to him being kind of a dick when I reviewed that album. I realize now that I didn't even really think of including Country Sleep on my decade list, even though I really loved that album at the time.

I also just think Noah Gundersen is kind of a way a better version of Night Beds, from the folky first record to the more experimental explorations in pop music.

 

Awesome review man. Ive listened twice today and both times I was kind of distracted but it's great. It's definitely hard not to think about him and Kacey when listening to some of these songs. Seems like she was a big influence on him getting back on track so I hope he's doing OK. As much as I absolutely love Dying Star I really hope he never has to write another album like that.

 

Apparently he did an indie store exclusive /500 run and my local shop got a few in and i got #3!

 

Mid-morning lament is amazing

 

Ugh i didn’t see any at my local store today

 

Yeah, definitely agreed on hoping he doesn't have to write another album like that. I hope no one has to write another album like that. I was listening to "Dying Star" today, and man, that song still crushes me.

 

immediately drove to my Local store after seeing this post. Didn’t get as low, but still stoked on this

 

this is incredible.

 

I either ordered a gold or red vinyl. The site was weird so it said both at one point?

 

I’m in love with this so far. Really glad the pre-release singles aren’t all together on the tracklist too

 

This is such a small thing, but I really do think it matters. It’s such a bummer when you’ve already heard the entire first half of an album just from singles.

 

I only think stuff like that only matters -- at least to me -- in a very short window of time. If an album is enduring, in 15 years I'm not gonna be like, "yeah but I heard too many of the songs before I heard the whole thing."

 

That’s true, it matters less the further you get from the release. But first impressions do matter, and it can absolutely make a difference in how you hear a new record if a huge percentage of it isn’t actually “new” to you. There are absolutely records from this year that I would like more if the pre-release/rollout campaigns had been different. Thinking specifically of Brian Fallon, Tenille Townes, and Maddie & Tae.

 

Yep, a lot of time how you first respond to an album determines how much time you give it down the line.

 

There needs to be a support group for people who don’t listen to pre-album singles. I didn’t listen to Brian Fallon’s and I just can’t say how glad I am for that because he released literally half that record. And I was able to hold out with Jason Isbell. I wasn’t as strong with Ruston Kelly, though, and now I definitely regret it because my favorite song was a single (Radio Cloud) and I don’t know if that’s because I’ve listened to it a bunch and have the video in my head or if it’s just that song actually being the best.

I need help, guys. I want to listen to albums in their entirety for the first time, but I can’t help but listen to the singles sometimes. We need a support group.