Ruel
Aware Super Theatre
28 April 2023
Sydney, Australia
Having established himself firmly on the firmament of international performers since he first appeared on the scene seven years ago at the mere age of fourteen, the London-born and Sydney-based artist mononymously known as Ruel has recently dropped his first full-length album, i.e. “4th Wall”, much to wide critical acclaim.
Needless to say that we were intrigued to find out how Ruel was going to channel his distinctively emotive vocal tone, the baring of his vulnerable thoughts centred around the implications of love and self-realisation and engaging knack for creating accessible contemporary pop music in a live context.
Vocally effortlessly moving between his trademark luring middle register and falsetto, Ruel showcased what appears to be an innate command of his range from the get go.
Informed by a bubbling confidence, Ruel conveyed the melancholic tinge of his stories energetically and at times with a seemingly deliberate melodramatic feel, backed by instrumentation that was reminiscent of a well-calibrated melange of a multitude of genres, ranging from the Beatles to notes taken out of the book of 1975.
Given what Ruel achieves at this young age in terms of cinematic proportions, aficionados of contemporary laid-back, catchy pop tunes that are delivered with a soulful ease should take note and catch an evolving artist at this nascent stage of his career.
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photo courtesy of Michelle Grace Hunder
