Rui Gabriel shares his new single “Church of Nashville,” a track lifted from the artist’s debut album, Compassion, available June 21st via Carpark Records. The track follows previous single “Summertime Tiger.” “Church of Nashville” humorously takes aim at local music scene pretension and industry gatekeeping.

Rui Gabriel’s journey to become one of indie rock’s most vibrant and perceptive voices is certainly unconventional. Born in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, Gabriel had always wanted to be in a band. After attending high school in Nicaragua, he ended up in New Orleans for college. After writing songs with his band Yuppie Teeth, he formed Lawn with Mac Folger and Nicholas Corson in 2016 and released three albums – 2018’s Blood on the Tracks, 2020’s Johnny, and 2022’s Bigger Sprout.

“Church of Nashville” takes inspiration from a friend of Gabriel’s — who grew up in Nashville — that once vented about how tough it was to be taken seriously as a musician in the city because it fell outside of a “industry of cool,” and the way it ultimately impacted their self-esteem. “I have nothing against Nashville and the lyrics are mostly supposed to be a character assassination of a certain type of person one can always find in a mid-sized to large metro area,” Gabriel elaborates. “There is a bit of myself in there too, especially as a transplant to New Orleans who grew up fairly privileged and decided to try out as a musician.” The track had three different recorded versions with modified lyrics, before Gabriel decided to add electronic elements and focus on atmospherics, and features a sample from the Venezuelan presidential crisis protest of the last half-decade.

Compassion‘s themes tackle growing up, and how the older you get, your priorities shift, friendships evolve, and responsibilities become inescapable. For Gabriel, the changes in his own life, primary among them becoming a father, inspired him to write a solo full-length that sounds like nothing the indie rock journeyman has done before. Alongside Corson, Gabriel is joined by The Convenience and Video Age’s Duncan Troast, Kate Teague, Stef Chura, and Lawn’s Mac Folger. To Gabriel, the LP is an undeniable document of personal growth. “Compassion is me saying goodbye to the mentality that I had before and hello to becoming an adult,” he says.

Rui Gabriel 2024 Tour Dates

Thu. June 20 – Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR
Fri. June 21 – Bloomington, IN @ Blockhouse ^
Sat. June 22 – Chicago, IL @ Gman Tavern ^
Tue. June 25 – Detroit, MI @ PJs Lager House
Thu. June 27 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Broadway
Fri. June 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Tin Can
Sat. June 29 – Washington, DC @ Cool Ranch
Mon. July 1 – Asheville, NC @ Static Age
Tue. July 2 – Athens, GA @ Flickers *
Wed. July 3 – Atlanta, GA @ 529 *
Sun. July 6 – New Orleans, LA @ Saturn Bar

^ w/ Wishy
* w/ O Key

pre order Compassion by Rui Gabriel HERE