Monday, March 22, 2021

Tom Odell battles the musical 'Monsters'

I had a great interview with Tom for his last album (find it elsewhere on this blog). I'm looking forward to hearing the new songs...

Brit Award and Ivor Novello award-winning songwriter, plus platinum-selling, chart-topping artist Tom Odell has announced that his fourth album, monsters, will be released June 25. Pre-order HERE. To kick off the news of his forthcoming album, Odell released an acoustic version of his forthcoming single “monsters” titled “monsters v.1” - watch the video/listen HERE.

Tom also debuted the album’s title track with a stripped down performance on “The Graham Norton Show” - Watch it HERE.

In addition, Tom has announced dates for his UK 2022 “the monsters tour.” Visit www.tomodell.com for more information.

After a dark period of mental health stalked most of his 2018 and 19, Odell wrote his way through it, pouring his feelings into new music that became the new album monsters.

Last month, Odell premiered the album’s first single "numb" via BBC Radio 1 “Hottest Record In The World” with an accompanying video filmed in Tom’s home in England and directed by Tom Odell & Joseph Delaney. Watch it HERE.

Odell will release the album version of the title track “monster” as an official single in the coming weeks. “monster,” with a confrontational chorus (“you're just a monster and I'm not scared”), lyrics initially inspired by Trump, and more specifically climate change activist Greta Thunberg's staring down the former U.S. president at the UN Climate Summit in 2019, the song’s meaning soon morphed into something more abstract. The song became a self-help mantra for Odell's ongoing battle with anxiety.

“In 2019, my anxiety got so bad that I had to stop making music for a while. There was a period when it felt like I couldn’t leave the house without having a panic attack. I wrote this song, ‘monster’ about trying to overcome my struggles with those mental health problems. It makes me super sad to listen at moments because it brings back some tough times, but I am super proud of it and hope it resonates with people who are dealing with similar struggles. I released a demo first version of the song in its purest form, which I wanted to share first, as the lyrics mean so much to me.” Listen/Watch “monsters v.1” HERE.

Odell has been working as a musician in the public eye since he was 21 when self-penned debut album Long Way Down earned him a UK number one album, top 10 single (the epic “Another Love” which propelled him to global notice) as well as the coveted Brit Award. A masterful performer, Tom has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Jonathan Ross Show, The Graham Norton Show, Late Late Show with James Corden, Late Night with Seth Meyers and so many more.

Now, 30, it's clear to Tom that the whirlwind around his debut kick started a work ethic that eventually became an obsession. It reached an apex in September 2019 when Odell, fresh off touring his album Jubilee Road, left his home in London and went straight to LA to start writing the next album. “Then this chronic anxiety that I'd had for a couple of years just got worse.” Odell woke up one morning “and I couldn't do any more music.” He knew something had to change. In the end he flew back home, went straight to his parent's house and slowly got better.

Odell turned that challenging experience into this new album. He also realized his broader lyrical horizons needed to be matched by a musical expansion, with a lot of the songs on the album – created alongside songwriter Laurie Blundell and producer Miles James – leaning into a more electronic, bedroom pop sound that Odell has steadily become obsessed with over the last few years.

This newfound love of DIY electronic pop chimed with the pandemic's arrival and songs were crafted in a more threadbare way around instruments he had at hand, like Moog synths. It was a move underpinned by both necessity and a desire to explore. 

Tom Odell has enjoyed over 2.6 billion streams, three UK top 5 albums including the platinum-selling, chart-topping Long Way Down; two UK top 10 singles, a 2013 Brit Award for Critic's Choice and being awarded the prestigious Ivor Novello award for Songwriter of the Year.

He recently sold out of his two Virtual Live performances. Fans pre-ordering the album (vinyl, cd, cassette and more) on Tom’s official website will guarantee first access to tickets.

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