Charm Offensive

Charm Offensive is the fourth studio album by British recording artist Shell Ruin. It was released on September 22, 2008, by Ensemble Entertainment, just shy of a year after the release of Ruin's previous studio album The Dirty Is Done (2007). The album was preceded by the lead single "Deep Comatose", released on September 15, 2008.

Musically, the album contains elements of synthpop and 70s psychedelic folk music, while thematically the album touches heavily upon loss, sex and loneliness. Despite the change in musical direction and the less commercial appeal of the album, Charm Offensive was Ruin's most successful album to date at the time of its release. The album was also lauded by critics, who praised Ruin's change of direction.

Album development
Recording sessions for Charm Offensive began in January 2008, a year after Ruin's return to music. Following the release of Kill Pop and The Dirty Is Done the previous year, Ruin wanted to create something more artistically challenging. Ruin took the more experimental aspects of her previous album and decided to use this as the blueprint for her new sound. Taking influence from 70s glam-rock ("Deep Comatose", "Leopard Fur Coat"), psychedelic folk ("Bear (Attacking)", "Marble Lions") and dream-pop ("Velveteen", "Jesus Pieces"), the album is Ruin's least commercial sounding effort to date. The album still has an over arching synth-pop sound, which ties its influences together and makes for a more cohesive effort.

Title and art direction
The phrase "charm offensive" is defined as "a campaign of flattery, friendliness, and cajolement designed to achieve the support or agreement of others." Ruin felt the title fit the album, with its themes of loneliness, hope and sexual gratification. The album's artwork and packaging was designed by London-based design studio Big Active, who are reoccurring collaborators of Ruin. The album cover is a collage featuring a photograph of an unnamed gay 1970s porn actor. The album cover is a reference to the album's 70s glam-rock influences, in particular "Deep Comatose" and "Leopard Fur Coat" which touch upon sex and night club culture. The album cover was ranked #82 in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers of All-Time in 2011.

Promotion
To promote the album, Ruin played a fifteen date Last of the Original Dolls Tour in the United Kingdom during December 2010 which was well-documented by British media. During the tour, Ruin's behaviour was erratic and unusual. She appeared intoxicated in most of the shows and fans of Ruin expressed concern for her wellbeing. During a show in Manchester on December 16, 2010, a group of fans tried to stage an intervention for Ruin before they were escorted off stage by security.

Ruin released the single "Judas" and the promotional single "Asking for It" in January 2011. Both were commercial failures. Ruin gave no interviews to promote the album, nor did she appear on televsion. This was reportedly due to the fact that nobody had invited Ruin to appear and several magazines and television shows refused to work with Ruin at this time.

Track listing
All songs written and produced by Shell Ruin.


 * 1) "You Can Be Happy"
 * 2) "Deep Comatose"
 * 3) "Leopard Fur Coat"
 * 4) "Marble Lions"
 * 5) "Rule With An Iron Fist"
 * 6) "There Is a Place"
 * 7) "Bear (Attacking)"
 * 8) "Jesus Pieces"
 * 9) "Under the Ether"
 * 10) "Velveteen"


 * iTunes digital bonus tracks
 * 1) "Closing Down Sale"
 * 2) "Tight Sweater"
 * 3) "Charm Offensive"