Are you sitting down? Yes? Good. Now get up, go outside and take a walk. And take Winning Star Champion with you. See, the music on Ruler’s debut album -- hook-heavy, assertive, inspiring -- is made for motion. It’s a soundtrack for moving forward, for getting better, in terms of both healing and self-improvement. Built on main man Matt Batey’s lifelong fears, anxieties, addictions, and failures -- not to mention his preternatural gift for creating instantly classic indie rock -- these eleven songs follow that old adage by Robert Frost: The best way out is through. And in this case the best way through is with the volume cranked up all the way.

Openers are Makebelief and Sunday School.