New York-based indie R&B crooner Tom Krell will release his new album under the How to Dress Well alias today (September 18). Following up 2010's Love Remains, his second full-length, Total Loss, finds the singer/producer giving his scratchy, lo-fi sound a considerable upgrade — something that entirely intentional.
"It's an intentional step up, production-wise, but certainly doesn't stray from the distorted perspectives on love that were strewn throughout Love Remains," Krell tells Exclaim! "With Love Remains, that record sounds noisy and suffocating and self-enclosed in the way it does because I was trying to present the feeling of melancholy, sonically. I can understand how some people found the production to be difficult to listen to. However, I do hope they recognize the intention.
"With Total Loss, I wanted to present not melancholy, but mourning, so I needed to develop a product that had these grinding sad moments side-by-side with, like, 'head above water' moments, moments of clarity."
Krells says that the production is a big difference between the two albums, but there is more beneath the surface.
"On the surface, it's production, but more importantly, it's everything," Krell says. "Again, it's about mourning, as opposed to melancholy, and I hope that listeners can decipher the two. I leave it up to them. But yeah, I strive for unity of form and content in my work, and this takes different shapes on different occasions."
As for the stunning album cover, that is Krell, and it is intended to be morbid.
"It's actually a 3D rendering of my face — it's a death mask," he admits. "Feels ominous, yet peaceful to me."
Total Loss is out now on Acephale. As previously reported, How to Dress Well has an upcoming world tour planned. You can see all the dates, which include some Canadian shows, below.
Tour dates:
10/3 Grand Rapids, MI - TBA
10/4 Toronto, ON - Great Hall
10/5 Montreal, QC - Club Lambi
10/6 Middleton, CT - Eclectic House
10/7 Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
10/8 New York, NY - Santos
10/10 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
10/11 Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel
10/18 Gent, Belgium - Charlatan
10/19 Brussels, Belgium - AB Club
10/20 Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
10/22 Malmo, Sweden - Inkonst
10/23 Oslo, Norway - Bla
10/24 Stockholm, Sweden - Fargfabriken
10/25 Copenhagen, Denmark - Pumpehuset (downstairs)
10/26 Aarhus, Denmark - Train
10/27 Hamburg, Germany - Turmzimmer
10/29 Berlin, Germany - Bi Nuu
10/30 Munich, Germany - Kranhalle
10/31 Luzern, Switzerland - Sudpol | Musik Tanz Theater
11/2 Dublin, Ireland - Twisted Pepper
11/3 Manchester, UK - Soup Kitchen
11/5 London, UK - XOYO
"It's an intentional step up, production-wise, but certainly doesn't stray from the distorted perspectives on love that were strewn throughout Love Remains," Krell tells Exclaim! "With Love Remains, that record sounds noisy and suffocating and self-enclosed in the way it does because I was trying to present the feeling of melancholy, sonically. I can understand how some people found the production to be difficult to listen to. However, I do hope they recognize the intention.
"With Total Loss, I wanted to present not melancholy, but mourning, so I needed to develop a product that had these grinding sad moments side-by-side with, like, 'head above water' moments, moments of clarity."
Krells says that the production is a big difference between the two albums, but there is more beneath the surface.
"On the surface, it's production, but more importantly, it's everything," Krell says. "Again, it's about mourning, as opposed to melancholy, and I hope that listeners can decipher the two. I leave it up to them. But yeah, I strive for unity of form and content in my work, and this takes different shapes on different occasions."
As for the stunning album cover, that is Krell, and it is intended to be morbid.
"It's actually a 3D rendering of my face — it's a death mask," he admits. "Feels ominous, yet peaceful to me."
Total Loss is out now on Acephale. As previously reported, How to Dress Well has an upcoming world tour planned. You can see all the dates, which include some Canadian shows, below.
Tour dates:
10/3 Grand Rapids, MI - TBA
10/4 Toronto, ON - Great Hall
10/5 Montreal, QC - Club Lambi
10/6 Middleton, CT - Eclectic House
10/7 Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
10/8 New York, NY - Santos
10/10 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
10/11 Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel
10/18 Gent, Belgium - Charlatan
10/19 Brussels, Belgium - AB Club
10/20 Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
10/22 Malmo, Sweden - Inkonst
10/23 Oslo, Norway - Bla
10/24 Stockholm, Sweden - Fargfabriken
10/25 Copenhagen, Denmark - Pumpehuset (downstairs)
10/26 Aarhus, Denmark - Train
10/27 Hamburg, Germany - Turmzimmer
10/29 Berlin, Germany - Bi Nuu
10/30 Munich, Germany - Kranhalle
10/31 Luzern, Switzerland - Sudpol | Musik Tanz Theater
11/2 Dublin, Ireland - Twisted Pepper
11/3 Manchester, UK - Soup Kitchen
11/5 London, UK - XOYO