Play

Play is the sixth studio album by British recording artist Shell Ruin. Released on September 28, 2015, the album served as Ruin’s first new material in four years.

A complete departure from her previous studio album Panic Station (2011), the album includes influences of 1970s and 1980s disco, as well as house and R&B music.

Play has an overarching disco influence, while trying not to remake music from past, instead paying tribute towards artists like Donna Summer, Chic and Giorgio Moroder. Ruin initially wanted to make an album with a heavy disco influence, but later recorded songs with a more contemporary R&B sound.

The album includes themes of love, heartbreak and surviving hardship. Ruin made a conscious decision not to focus on themes of fame and religion which had been common themes in her previous material.

Development
In 2011, Ruin released her fifth album, Panic Station, to poor critical and commercial success. In the aftermath of the album's failure, Ruin felt disillusioned with the music industry and claimed to suffer with writer's block. Ruin became known as a recluse in the media, rarely being seen out in public. In 2012, she met media mogul Mark Saint James and fell pregnant after two months of dating. The pair married in Italy while Ruin was pregnant. Saint James filed for divorce six months later, citing "irreconcilable differences".

Following her divorce, Ruin was left suffering with post-natal depression and experienced financial difficulties having not had a hit single for four years. She met with friend and collaborator Alesha, whom she hadn't spoken to since 2011. Having experienced depression herself and recently staged a successful comeback with her album Alesha, Alesha encouraged Ruin to return to music. The pair began recording in April 2015 and the album was complete by August.

A complete departure from her previous album, the album includes influences of 1970s and 1980s disco, as well as house and R&B music. Play has an overarching disco influence, while trying not to remake music from past, instead paying tribute towards artists like Donna Summer, Chic and Giorgio Moroder. Ruin and Alesha had initially wanted to make an album with a cohesive disco sound, but later recorded songs with a more contemporary R&B influence as well as elements of house and electronic music.

The album includes themes of love, heartbreak and surviving hardship. Ruin made a conscious decision not to focus on themes of fame and religion, though the album does include these themes in several songs. Ruin wrote mainly of her ex-husband's infidelity, their break-up and getting over heartbreak.

Music and lyrics
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Critical reception
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Commercial response
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Promotion
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Singles
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Tour
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Track listing
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