Ruel is no stranger to reinvention. Since breaking through at just 14, he’s built a global fanbase off the back of intimate songwriting and soulful vocals that belie his age. Now, at 22, the ARIA-winning artist enters a bold new era with the release of KICKING MY FEET, a confident, honest, and sonically adventurous album that showcases a more self-assured, fully-formed version of the star we’ve grown up with.
Released today (October 17) via Giant Music, KICKING MY FEET sees Ruel blending his signature rawness with rich textures pulled from ’80s alt-pop, modern indie rock, and soul. Across 11 tracks, the album dives into the highs and heartaches of early adulthood: growing pains, self-sabotage, first loves, and the quiet wins that feel monumental.
“I’m closer to the music I want to make than I’ve ever been”
The title track, inspired by the playful phrase seen across social media, became the album’s guiding light. Ruel says the term, usually used to express innocent joy, captured the mood he wanted to convey: childlike giddiness, unfiltered love, and the awkward charm that comes with navigating adult emotions for the first time.
“This record feels like I’ve finally found the balance between the more organic side of my influences, like Jeff Buckley or James Morrison, and the ’80s artists I kept coming back to,” Ruel explains.
To mark the release, Ruel also dropped a tongue-in-cheek music video for fan favourite “Wild Guess”, starring comedian Mary Beth Barone (Overcompensating) and directed by Jackie Zhou (Chappell Roan – “Hot To Go!”). Set on a chaotic film set in the Wild West, the video sees Ruel and Barone as exes forced to play romantic leads, bickering their way through emotional baggage with sharp comedic timing.
Despite a decade in the spotlight, KICKING MY FEET is perhaps the first time we’ve heard Ruel so completely in control. Songs like “I Can Die Now” and “Not What’s Going On” ditch the metaphors in favour of emotional clarity, trading tortured poetics for open-hearted storytelling. He’s not hiding anymore.
“This is the first album where I didn’t feel the need to disguise the happy songs,” he says. “It’s completely honest. It’s fun. I didn’t want to weigh it down.”
From the jangly bliss of “The Suburbs” to the cinematic closing track “dst (outro)”, there’s an emotional throughline to KICKING MY FEET that makes it one of Ruel’s most cohesive and compelling works to date.
It’s not a reinvention, it’s a graduation. And if 4TH Wall was Ruel stepping into his own story, KICKING MY FEET is him running with it.
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