Photo: WENN.com
Do we really need another Brit Award-winning cash cow? Well Tom Odell has certainly made his mark on the UK music industry recently. At the tender age of 22 he’s already bagged himself the Brits Critics’ Choice Award - not a bad start to a career. Playing a dingy little room in Camden’s Dingwalls, it’s a good place to discover whether Odell is all he’s cracked up to be.
It’s certainly a mixed bunch in the audience tonight, already there’s adoring teen types becoming hysterical when Odell saunters onstage. Then there are the cool Camden folk who’ve just come along to see what all the fuss is about.
Opening track ‘Grow Old With Me’ is a beautiful soulful number, which allows you to relax and become absorbed by Odell’s soft and tender lyrics. The clean- cut starlet is reminiscent of the boy band Hanson, only because of his 90’s curtained hairstyle, shimmering like something from a L’Oreal commercial. So far confirming the cash cow premonitions.
However ‘Can’t Pretend’ will silence any critic, Odell’s lungs fill the air with the whole room turning deadly silent. He rings the piano keys and bawls with deep thunderous angst that sends a shiver down your spine, excuse the cliché but it really is quiet literally.
It’s through his set that you begin to realise you’re witnessing something really special and intimate here. Odell is destined for bigger and better things than Dingwalls and he knows it. There’s a glisten in his eye as he plays tracks that could be easily compared to Elton John in his early years, mixed in with a jazzy yet dark infusion. It’s enthralling to watch someone so young and talented play with such passion and flare, blending seamlessly from soft to somber in a shift of a key.
‘Another Love’ is another gentle radio friendly hit, which keep the crowd mesmerised just a little longer mid set. You can now see the sweat pouring down his face, the pristine locks are no more and you are now exposed to Odell’s raw and emotional side as he keeps his eyes tightly closed throughout.
‘Hold Me’ is the closing track before the encore, where the introduction of a thumping piano and beating of the drums signals an edgier sound. It’s Odell’s voice that is a triumph, managing to wail across the chaos of noise onstage and effortlessly transition into a beautiful whisper.
Tonight’s performance beckons the beginning of another British phenomenon, but with a difference. Combining soulful angst, incredible musicianship and mainstream charm, there’s no doubt we’ll be hearing a lot more from Tom Odell.
