Writer-musician Aldus Santos begins a new chapter in music with St. Ruin, his latest recording project, and its debut single, “Uncool.” Released August 14 through Lilystars Records, the song marks Santos’ return to recorded music after several years away.
“Uncool” is more than a comeback single. Santos wrote the song for his only brother, who died of cancer in 2023. He describes it as a love letter to the departed, moving between imagined present moments, memories of the past, and an uncertain future.
The track introduces St. Ruin ahead of the planned October release of A Cocktail Called Last Word, an EP Santos describes as “a grief journal in audio.”
What is St. Ruin and why did Aldus Santos create it?
St. Ruin is Santos’ new musical identity, bringing together his work as a musician, writer, and observer of music and culture.
Santos is known to longtime followers of Philippine independent music as a member of the aughts-era band The Purplechickens and neo-folk project Pamphleteer. His work has also extended beyond performing and recording. He has written about music for publications including Rappler, NME, Billboard, and Rolling Stone.
His books include Alternate Endings, a collection of concert reportage published by Offshore Music in 2020, and The Demo Versions, a blend of criticism and autobiography released by Everything’s Fine in 2022.
Santos also co-wrote Eraserheads: Combo on the Run, the documentary about the iconic Filipino band's much-anticipated reunion. The film began streaming on Netflix in May following its theatrical run.
With St. Ruin, Santos brings these different parts of his creative life into a new musical project.
Santos handles vocals, guitar, and harmonica on the recording. He is joined by bassist Yan Bagay Cruz, whose credits include work with Bayang Barrios, Joey Ayala, and Abby Clutario.
Drummer Dave Cruz of Blind Stereo Moon also appears on the track, while electronic artist and producer kvtvlv contributes synths and sound design.
The combination gives “Uncool” an arrangement that extends beyond a conventional singer-songwriter setup. The electronic elements, in particular, add a cinematic quality to a song built around grief and remembrance.
“Uncool” serves as the first advance single from A Cocktail Called Last Word, which is expected to arrive in October.
The EP will be Santos’ first recorded release since Pamphleteer’s double-A-side Two Novellas in 2022. It also represents his first recorded work under Lilystars Records.
The title of the EP carries an intentional sense of finality. Santos' description of the project as an audio grief journal suggests that the songs will examine loss not as a single event, but as an experience that continues long after a death.
That perspective also helps explain the unusual treatment of time in “Uncool.” Rather than presenting grief strictly as something belonging to the past, the song moves across different tenses, reflecting how memories can remain present while the person being remembered is no longer there.
Santos’ return highlights how creative careers can evolve rather than follow a fixed timeline.
He spent much of the past decade moving between music, criticism, journalism, books, and documentary work. St. Ruin brings those experiences back into a recording project while also addressing a deeply personal loss.
It is also notable that Santos is introducing a new musical identity in his 40s. The idea challenges the assumption that musicians must establish their artistic identity early in life or remain tied to the projects that first made them known.
For independent musicians, releasing new work can also mean starting over with a different audience, sound, or creative direction. In Santos’ case, St. Ruin gives him space to approach music from a different point in his life.
His observation that “a poet doesn’t stop hurting past a certain age” captures the central idea behind the project: grief does not necessarily follow a schedule, and neither does creativity.
Where can listeners hear “Uncool”?
“Uncool” is available on major digital streaming platforms through Lilystars Records. It is the first released song under the St. Ruin name and serves as a preview of the forthcoming A Cocktail Called Last Word EP, which is slated for October.
For listeners familiar with Santos’ earlier work, the single offers a new entry point into his music. For those discovering him for the first time, it connects songwriting, literary sensibility, and personal storytelling in a project centered on loss.
Aldus Santos’ St. Ruin project begins with “Uncool,” a song shaped by the death of his brother and the complicated ways grief changes over time. The single also marks Santos’ return to recorded music and introduces A Cocktail Called Last Word, an upcoming EP built around the idea of grief as an ongoing experience.
Rather than treating his return as a nostalgic revisit to his earlier bands, Santos is using St. Ruin to document a different stage of his life. “Uncool” suggests that the new project will be less about looking backward than finding a way to keep moving while carrying the past.
