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How to Dress Well

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How To Dress Well


 

How To Dress Well

 

How To Dress Well is the bedroom-project of Tom Krell.  His music is skeletal and sleek. He first came on my radar with his sophomore release, 2012's Total Loss, an album about mourning- after he lost his best friend (Listen to him explain [and perform] the origins of "Set It Right," a song that was recorded for the album on the one year anniversary of his friend's death) as well as the loss of his uncle. Mourning through pop expression of the highest caliber is a great strategy. We're talkin' 'bout: four-minute songs, choruses, falsetto, synths 'n' beats  The cross between ambient, R&B and pop are a great place to start but thrown through an experimental lens makes for a unique if not haunting ride.  Lo-fi bedroom pop mixed with early 1990's R&B with some beautiful singing... that's music to me. Tom Krell is an interesting cat: a musician with a Ph.D in philosophy who records in L.A.-via-Brooklyn-via-Cologne, Germany. He first started releasing music on his blog in the fall of 2009. Love Remains is a compilation of his earlier recordings... with a bit of re-recordings add in the studio now that he could afford it... It went from a bedroom-project to full-time. You can only be so good before the fame comes your way. Every song Tom Krell writes and performs is conversations with: romantic partners, himself, and his complex web of musical ancestors. He can take on a more ambient and somber tone OR switch that shit up into an easy rhythmic warm dance vibe. The harmonies are the heart of his project.  This music makes me ask: Is this a bad dream that feels real or a good dream that feels fake? Whatever it is, it is beautiful music that I keep coming back to. By looping layers of his voice and paying homage to the New Jack swing movement with his beats- How To Dress Well has earned a spot on my favorite musicians list. Back to the basics: Since rising to the top of the blogosphere with his early releases (i.e. 2009's The Eternal Love EP) he has released his debut single "Ready for the World" as well the Just Once EP, not counting his first two albums mentioned above. After the Just Once EP he released his ambitious third album, 2014's "What Is The Heart?" Since then he has released two more albums: 2016's Care and 2018's The Anteroom. When the music is this eternal, it's an easy sell...

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How To Dress Well


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