Tom Odell - Wrong Crowd (Deluxe) (2016) [Hi-Res]

Born in the West Sussex town of Chichester, British singer/songwriter Tom Odell spent his formative years studying at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music. Raised on a steady diet of Elton John, Leonard Cohen, and Bob Dylan, Odell's songs are emotional, raw, and hushed affairs that have drawn comparisons to Jeff Buckley. In 2012, after landing a record deal with Columbia Records, the then-21-year-old released his debut EP, Songs from Another Love, made his television debut on Later... with Jools Holland, and was nominated for and won in the Critics Choice category of that year's BRIT Awards. He released his first full-length studio album, Long Way Down, in 2013. The platinum-selling album was a huge success, having gone straight in at number one on the U.K. charts, and Odell spent much of the following couple of years touring the material relentlessly, supporting huge names such as Elton John, Billy Joel, and The Rolling Stones along the way. Odell soon sought refuge from the limelight, and found it in the shape of a small apartment in New York's East Village. It was here that he found the time to begin working on his follow-up, 2016's Wrong Crowd. After a European tour in 2014, and after scooping the awarding of an Ivor Novello award for Songwriter of the Year, Odell again relocated, this time to Los Angeles. Here the album began to take shape, now with the help of producer Jim Abbiss, best known for his work with Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, and Adele, amongst others. Ever the avid film buff, Wrong Crowd was accompanied by a collection of films which followed the narrative of the album. Scripted by Odell and with the help of director George Belfield, the films explored themes of isolation and innocence, having drawn inspiration from the greats such as Wenders, Malick, and Fellini during his time spent under the radar in New York. A European tour to promote the album was slated for Spring 2016. ~ James Christopher Monger