Odell spent nine months perfecting the lyrics for this album, writing on tour buses and trains, far from the stability of the home he’s built.
“I worked out every line in detail,” says Odell. “Every day, I would go back to the same words, refining them over and over again. I’m a bit of an obsessive, and that obsessiveness is probably my worst trait—I’d pay a therapist a lot of money to teach me how to let go of it. But it’s also the part of me that never gives up on a song.”
The new songs will be performed live on his self-titled European tour this fall, with dates scheduled at the O2 Arena in London, the Accor Arena in Paris, the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, the Uber Arena in Berlin, and other iconic venues.
Tom Odell is currently touring with Billie Eilish, serving as a special guest on several sold-out dates of her “Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour” across Europe. This summer, he will also be supporting The Lumineers as a headliner on several dates of their North American “Automatic World Tour.” Before the arena dates, Odell will kick off a series of intimate shows across the United States and Canada—one-of-a-kind shows that will give fans a rare opportunity to see him perform in smaller venues like they haven’t in years.
A Wonderful Life was conceived in part as a reaction to the constant news cycle and “the feeling that almost every week the world is ending in some way—which for some people, it is.”
Odell’s lyrics capture the despair, frustration, and helplessness felt in the face of the current reality.
The album was recorded at the legendary Church Studios, HOXA and the legendary Room One at RAK Studios — spaces where iconic albums by artists such as Radiohead, The Pogues and Ultravox were born. All the songs were recorded live with his band, with the instruments “interfering with each other”, creating a more raw and authentic sound.
Known for his emotional songs about love, heartbreak and self-reflection, Tom Odell has been widely praised by critics, having won awards such as the BRIT Awards and the Ivor Novello. His music has been featured in publications such as “The Guardian”, “The Telegraph”, “Rolling Stone”, “The Evening Standard”, “The Observer”, among others.
A Wonderful Life lineup:
1. “Don’t Let Me Go”
2. “Don’t Cry, Put Your Head On My Shoulder”
3. “Prayer”
4. “Can We Just Go Home Now”
5. “Why Do I Always Want The Things I Can’t Have”
6. “Wonderful Life”
7. “Ugly”
8. “Strange House”
9. “Can Old Lovers Ever Be Friends?”
10. “The End of Suffering”
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