Ruston Kelly has established himself as an essential songwriting voice, capable of transforming his unsparing and often-painful self-examination into moments of sublime catharsis. Tracks like the single "Half Past Three" feels like a homecoming in a sense as he leans deep into the storytelling that his fans so often equate with his music. With a lyrical sensibility that constantly shifts from candid to poetic, the South Carolina-born singer/songwriter imbues his songs with equal parts nuanced confession and punk-rock irreverence, mining inspiration from such eclectic sources as the Carter Family, transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, and seminal emo act Dashboard Confessional.