Kill Pop

Kill Pop (stylized as KILL POP) is the second studio album by British recording artist Shell Ruin. Released on April 2, 2007 via Ensemble Entertainment, the album was Ruin's first studio album since Stories of a Girl (2005) and marked a new musical direction. The album was preceded by the single "All That Glitters", which was released as the album's lead single in January 2007.

The album saw Ruin reintroduce herself to music after taking a two year hiatus. During that time she became a socialiate and part-time model, and her 'party girl' lifestyle is chronicled in much of the songs on Kill Pop. Ruin worked on the album sporadically during 2006, and much speculation surrounded the album's production which was marred with delays and issues between Ruin and her collaborators.

During promotion of Kill Pop, Ruin described it as "a concept album about my fantasy vision of the future" and "a rave opera". Upon the week of its release, "All That Glitters" climbed to number seven on the Official Top 40 Singles Charts. The album was given a largely enthusiastic review by NME (the magazine named it "album of the year"), although it received more mixed reviews from other critics. The British and Malaysian pressings of the album contain a short instrumental hidden track after 15 minutes of silence at the end of "All That Glitters", apparently intended for an art piece by Ruin. Kill Pop won the Mercury Prize in 2007.

Kill Pop is featured in the musical reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die upon its revision in 2007, but was removed from later editions.

Background and development
Ruin released her debut album Stories of a Girl in January 2005. The album was a moderate success, spawning the Top 10 singles "Not a Love Song" and "Boys & Girls". Ruin subsequently embarked on the Girl Tour that summer. Further plans to release more singles from the album were cancelled after Ruin showed disinterest in the album, instead recording the electro-pop song "Loving Is Easy" which was released in August 2005. Ruin stated on her official website that her second album would be released in January 2006. Two months later, Ruin left Alias Records, citing "creative differences". I early 2006, Ruin signed a new record deal with Ensemble Entertainment and continued work on her second album. She continued to tell fans that the album was coming "soon" and teased song titles and lyrics on her online blog. Ruin described her new music as "pop with heavy rave and electronic influences". Ruin recorded around 30 songs for the album with various producers and writers in Miami, London and Barcelona, commenting that each of the producers aided the pop influence of the album, as they all wanted to write "the single". She later noted that "It's the first time I've worked with multiple writers. I needed to keep in mind a clear idea what kind of record I wanted to make. There was no experiment about it".

Kill Pop was officially announced in February of the following year, with a release date of April 2, 2007. The lead single "All That Glitters" divided critics with its electroclash leanings, but ultimate became a Top 10 hit. Ruin cited Grace Jones and Kraftwerk as influences for the album. She adopted a "space raver" persona which saw her make appearances in high fashion costumes designed largely by Gareth Pugh. Ruin described the album title by saying "the album blurs the line between the underground and the mainstream. I'm saying, fuck what's popular".

The artwork for Kill Pop was designed by London based design studio Big Active. Ruin was photographed by Mert & Marcus for the cover, which sees her portray "a raver lost in another dimension" according to Ruin. The costume was custom designed by Gareth Pugh. Ruin wears a fuchsia boiler suit on the reverse of the artwork, which she was seen wearing multiple times during the album's promotion accessorised by a diamond-encrusted "rave whistle".

Release
Kill Pop was released in Ireland on March 29, 2007 and in the United Kingdom on the following Monday. The album debuted on the Official Top 40 Albums Chart at number five, with first week sales of 109,394. The album wasn't released internationally.

Critical reception
Media response to Kill Pop was generally favourable, with many professional reviews commented on Ruin's progression from her debut album. Aggregating website Metacritic reported a normalised rating of 68, based on thirteen positive and ten mixed critical reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews. Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian awarded the album three stars out of five, applauding Ruin's efforts to stand out from conventional pop music. BBC reviewer Andy Fyfe noted the band's move away from her pop-rock labelling, comparing her new sound favourably to The Prodigy and Depeche Mode. In December April 2007, Hot Press noted: "Despite being an excellent collection of catchy psych-pop tunes, the record's tortured creation [...] did Ruin no favours and there was a feeling of anti-climax when it finally surfaced this year". This was in reference to the fact that the album was initially scheduled to be released a year prior, but was delayed several times by Ruin's record label.

The Quietus called the album "a complete masterwork," praising Ruuin as "seriously way ahead of her peers." Pitchfork Media called Kill Pop "the most cerebral pop album of the year" and described it as "all gleaming and immaculate from a distance, sharp and shattered if you get too close." Heather Phares of AllMusic stated that the album "opts for a more personal approach that is so powerful in part because it's so quiet," declaring it "a welcome return". Electronic Beats called the album "a decisive step forward and a definitively experimental pop record, delivered with a confidence that defies the brevity expected of chart fodder."

In Sarah Althorpe's review for i-D magazine, she wrote that Kill Pop is "pure, evocative elegance". Reviewing the album for Toronto newspaper Now, Kevin Ritchie named it the album of the week, writing that it "fuses delicate, slow-burning deep-house-type rhythms with pop twang and the odd bit of glittering glam". Mixmag also noted the album's integration of "elegant deep house [...] rave-flecked pop, and idiosyncratic downtempo", and called it "a career high". Writing for The Irish Times, Jim Carroll said the two-year gap between albums for Ruin "has not lessened her knack for beautifully finessed tunes pulled together with sublime electropop belts and braces." Writing for musicOMH, Christopher Monk wrote that the album is "less interested in snagging listeners' ears with catchy hooks or luring them on to the dancefloor, and more interested in building a strange, compelling atmosphere". Drowned in Sound described the album as "a wonderfully dark and seething record" and a work to "absorb alone".

Track listing

 * 1) "Intro"
 * 2) "Sound the Horn"
 * 3) "Power Power" (with Alesha, Buffi and Taylor Brookes)
 * 4) "Jealous Girls"
 * 5) "Dancing with Numbers"
 * 6) "Warm Bitch"
 * 7) "Two of Hearts"
 * 8) "Pop Electric"
 * 9) "Sex Drug"
 * 10) "All Signs of Life"
 * 11) "The Light Fantastic"
 * 12) "All That Glitters"


 * Notes
 * "Power Power" written by Ruin and Alesha
 * "Jealous Girls" written by girlASKboy
 * "Warm Bitch" written by Ivy
 * "Two of Hearts" written by Alesha