Ruel has announced his highly anticipated second album Kicking My Feet, set to arrive on Friday, October 17th via Recess Records and Virgin Music Group.
Today’s announcement arrives alongside his latest single “The Suburbs”, a dreamy pop offering that showcases the Australian artist’s evolving sound.
“The Suburbs” represents a significant step forward for Ruel, crafted with an impressive roster of collaborators including Fran Hall (who has worked with Charli XCX and Kelly Clarkson), M-Phazes, Chelsea Lena, and Elias Danielsen.
The track explores themes of intimacy and domestic bliss, with Ruel singing about envisioning a simpler life in suburban paradise with someone special.
The single builds upon the momentum generated by “I Can Die Now”, released just a month prior. That track made a striking debut in New York’s Times Square on MTV and quickly amassed over a million streams within days. The track earned widespread critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone praising its “propulsive bass line” and “thudding percussion” whilst noting how it captures “an all-encompassing love” that hints at the sonic direction of the forthcoming album.
Kicking My Feet marks Ruel’s transition from Sydney to Los Angeles and his signing with Giant Music.
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The album’s creation process was notably extensive, with Ruel revealing he crafted over 200 songs before finalising the tracklist.
Ruel collaborated with some of the industry’s most respected producers for the project, including Julian Bunetta, who has worked with Sabrina Carpenter and One Direction, and Joel Little, known for his contributions to Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams’ catalogues.
“It’s been pretty daunting to offer up this level of honesty in my songwriting but seeing the way it’s already connected so personally with fans has calmed my ‘pre-album’ nerves in a huge way,” Ruel says.
Ruel’s “The Suburbs” is out now. Kicking My Feet is out Friday, October 17th via Recess Records / Virgin Music Group (pre-order/pre-save here).
