Ruston Kelly - Weakness

Don't call The Weakness a divorce record. It may arrive after Ruston Kelly's divorce from Kacey Musgraves -- a separation she documented herself on her 2021 album Star-Crossed -- and it may even contain a few tracks chronicling that split, but it's not designed as an extended wallow in misery. It's a rebirth, the sound of a singer/songwriter moving out of the darkness and into the shadows, if not quite the light. Kelly seems at home in murky, moody introspection, but where his previous albums favored slow, sometimes sparse interior journeys, The Weakness pulsates with the steady glow of a lava lamp. Some credit has to go to Nate Mercereau, a producer who previously worked with Lizzo, Leon Bridges, Shawn Mendes, and the Weeknd who serves as Kelly's full collaborator here, co-producing the record and playing any instrument the singer/songwriter didn't. The pair mimic the sound of a full band by focusing as much on the margins as the center, decorating Kelly's plaintive melodies with echo