Another Love singer Tom Odell’s starry second record, Constellations [Review]
If you want to relive the bliss of falling in love, Brit Award-winning Tom Odell has that feeling perfectly captured in Constellations, a piano ballad from his new record Wrong Crowd. What makes the album truly mesmerising album is its ability to pull you into the songs’ raw emotions as big strings and melodies tell the story of a man plagued by a troubled childhood.
In the subdued, pulsing title track, the protagonist is desperately searching for a sense of belonging. He blames himself for his father abandoning their family in rock track Daddy, and regrets ending a relationship in the 90s pop-inflected Silhouette. Slow jam Concrete is one of the highlights of the album, with hollow bass drums echoing the loneliness of the lyrics.
Odell’s delicate falsetto is particularly impressive in Sparrow, relaying the agony of trying to orient himself in “this meaningless life”. It constrasts with Somehow, a mellow acceptance that things are okay. The album may seem depressing, but it’s reassuring to know that we’re not the only ones feeling lonely.