Rising Seattle Indie Rockers Ruler Premiere CARS AND HOUSES + Debut Album WINNING STAR CHAMPION out 5/25

Ruler-the project of Seattle-based singer and songwriter Matt Batey (best known for his work with Rocky Votolato and Cataldo)-is celebrating the upcoming release of their debut full-length album Winning Star Champion with the premiere of the single "Cars and Houses" at Gold Flake Paint. Listen/share the track at http://www.goldflakepaint.co.uk/new-music-ruler-cars-and-houses/. Gold Flake Paint hails the track as "an evocative undertaking, the layered instrumentation sitting as a subtle but intriguing backdrop for Batey's considered vocal take, which itself has the ability to carve out varying atmospheric shapes in spite of the overall playfulness of the composition."

Winning Star Champion is due May 25 on Barsuk Records and is available for pre-order at https://www.barsuk.com/shop/bark172.

The band is also set to perform at the upcoming Upstream Festival in Seattle June 1-3, additional tour dates to be announced shortly.

Billboard recently premiered the album's first single, "Petrified," at https://bit.ly/2EMFn3F. Batey explained to Billboard that "Petrified" is "a song about being afraid of the future...I've struggled with anxiety my whole life, and I was feeling especially afraid and anxious about what the future holds." He goes on, "I don't think I'm super old or anything, but a lot of people around me in my life are kind of quitting music and making families and doing other stuff. So choosing to continue to play music at this point is another level of deliberately choosing to do this."

Upon the band's recent signing to hometown label Barsuk Records, Ruler released a slew of singles including "Not Your Friend," which Under the Radar raves "beautifully captures the emotive current of the Pacific Northwest indie sound" (watch the video HERE); "Easy Life," about which PopMatters notes, "with [Batey's] idiosyncratic vocal delivery at the forefront, perched beside the catchy ebb-and-flow of his musical arrangements, the tunes he's churning out under the moniker [Ruler] are decidedly fresh and exciting" (watch the video HERE); and "Complicated Mind," with KEXP praising the track for "just how expertly crafted Batey's songwriting really is" while hailing Ruler's "totally life-affirming live shows".

At 30 years old, Batey is already a seasoned veteran of Seattle's high-achieving music scene. The Montana native arrived 12 years ago intent on tapping into the city's longstanding creative legacy and immediately joined a band seeking a singer-songwriter-frontman. Buoyed by genuine instrumental chops but a streak of bad luck, the band toughed it out gig after gig, EP after EP. In four years Batey wrote more than 120 songs, songs he says nobody heard. Combined with his talent and ambition, these songs propelled him out of the collective setting and into solo territory. Finally on his own, he picked a name that felt triumphant and playful; a fist-in-the-air kind of name. Ruler would be all Matt Batey.

Photo Credit: Lauren Max

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