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.”