4TH WALL

Pop · 2023 · 14 tracks · 44m

4TH WALL

Polished R&B-pop exploring the artifice of modern life. Soulful vocals glide over cinematic arrangements, blending existential curiosity with warm, radio-ready hooks.

March 3, 2023 · RCA

4TH WALL feels like the moment you realize the world around you might just be an elaborate set. It is an album of high-fidelity introspection, where Ruel trades the straightforward heartbreak of his youth for a more complex, cinematic brand of existentialism. The sound is lush and expensive, yet it maintains a core of bedroom-pop intimacy, making you feel like the only audience member in a massive, empty theater.

Tracklist · 14 Tracks · 44m

01

GO ON WITHOUT ME

2:43

02

I DON’T WANNA BE LIKE YOU

2:44

03

SITTING IN TRAFFIC

4:15

04

JAPANESE WHISKEY

3:28

05

GROWING UP IS _____

3:54

06

SET YOURSELF ON FIRE

2:52

07

LIE

2:54

08

LET THE GRASS GROW

2:56

09

YOU AGAINST YOURSELF

2:26

10

SOMEONE ELSE’S PROBLEM

2:40

11

WISH I HAD YOU

3:17

12

IF AND/OR WHEN

2:53

13

MUST BE NICE

2:56

14

END SCENE

4:50

Moments Worth Listening For

The transition in GROWING UP IS ____ where the sparse intro blooms into a wide-screen, drum-heavy chorus.

The intimate, almost whispered vocal delivery on MUST BE NICE that feels like a secret shared in a dark room.

The way SITTING IN TRAFFIC uses ambient city noise to ground its melancholic piano melody.

Reviews

AllMusic

Where This Album Departs

How does 4TH WALL sound next to the rest of Ruel's catalogue?

Bittersweet+1.0σ

Bittersweet saturates this record notably more than the artist's norm.

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