Ruston Kelly's new single 'Pickleball' delivers the goods
Any Ruston Kelly fans out there?
Well, if you aren't familiar with the singer-songwriter's musical offerings just yet, this might intrigue you.
Kelly will release his fourth studio album, Pale, Through the Window, on Sept. 12, and it features a track called "Pickleball" that is definitely a catchy tune.
According to a July 11 story by VICE writer, Stephen Andrew Galiher, the song is "a pop-punk-inspired track wherein Ruston recounts his exhaustingly sporty first date with his new girlfriend, Tia Cubelic."
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Sounds cool, right?
"Pickleball" made quite an impression on Galiher, reminding him of some hit tracks from a rather well-known band.
"From the get-go, it’s apparent that it shares DNA with 2000s-era Blink-182," he writes, "kicking off with bass line chord progression that will have you thinking of "What’s My Age Again?" or "Stay Together For The Kids."
A couple of other notable groups inspired Kelly's sound choices for "Pickleball" as well.
"I whipped out the baritone electric and I was like, 'Alright, Dave Matthews is kissing Box Car Racer on the mouth. What does that sound like?'" he said on Instagram. "It's like, 'What if that song just wasn't folky at all? What if it was an absolute banger?'"
So about that memorable date that ultimately inspired the tune...
"I asked [Tia] to hang out in Nashville, and she’s like, 'Okay, like, 'Do you play pickleball?'" Kelly told Galiher. "In my head, I was like, 'I’ve never played pickleball in my life' ... I rolled up there not knowing what to expect, and kind of just like completely dove into a new scenario."
It ended up being a one-sided affair on the court.
"She kicked my ass when we played. She’s really good," Kelly told Galiher. "I was just like sweating actually, [which] I say in the song. Like, I was sweating bullets."
And from that, a work of art was born.
"Joking about how he "met [his] match" with this "beautiful girl" who was "absolutely dominating me on the court," Ruston says he eventually realized there was a song here and its name was "Pickleball," explained Galiher.
Click here to see Kelly's upcoming tour dates.
