Debut by Odlaw
"Lofi. High Fun" I joyfully slink around Michael's living room studio repeating this phrase while annoyingly making noise with any instrument in reach. "Lofi. High Fun". It's become my mantra for this album. An Album that is so much more than I ever initially intended. "Lofi. High Fun".
At the start of 2017 Odlaw began the process of releasing their first album "Regret City". The songwriter behind Odlaw, Mark Neal, found himself in a weird place. "I made music with my friends because it was a fun thing to do and I thought we were good at it. And then we did the best job we could turning it into a live show. then you make an album, and then you put it out in the world for everyone to listen to. It was an expensive first album that cost a heap of time, money, and energy. It also came at a very weird point in my life. I just ended a long term relationship, I started great music industry jobs (that were enough to actually live off), and I was deep into a state of depression and self loathing.”
“Odlaw toured the album. I stopped communicating, and the band drifted apart.” At this point Mark Neal was the only founding member left and it was easy to put the project on the shelf and focus on other parts of his musical career.
“New anxieties formed on top of old anxieties, I worked more and more, and without any artistic outlet the anxieties got pretty heavy.”
“Then somewhere in 2018 I confided in my friend and musical accomplice Michael Strong. Our journeys have been intertwined for some time, both ex-regional songwriters, sharing the stage together in The Disappointed, at one point we had attempted starting a label together, and Michael had begun to record/produce artists. He built an incredible working space in his living room, I wanted to capture some old acoustic songs before time took them from my brain, and Michael obliged.”
What came next was surprising and significant (to Mark).
“Old ideas transformed, new music flooded in, and an unorthodox attitude to my songwriting made it all feel okay again. In the safety of Michael Strong, I experimented, tried to be brave, took risks, and had fun.”
“You might not like it. This album won't change your life. This album probably isn't a masterpiece. We weren't trying to capture a moment. We weren't trying to do much of anything. But Odlaw isn't dead and our future seems like a glorious dream again.”
At the end of it all, when the smog settled on a lifetime of regrets, Odlaw made an album that feels more like them than anything else they've done prior. Mildly charming, slightly miserable, full of flaws, optimistic, a bit fucking strange, and mostly enjoyable.
Tracklist
| 1. | Let's Take A Risk | 3:31 |
| 2. | Debut | 3:07 |
| 3. | I Smell You Everywhere | 3:28 |
| 4. | The White Star Hotel | 3:31 |
| 5. | !nstr-8-men-T4L | 2:16 |
| 6. | Semi Polenta | 2:53 |
| 7. | Raised Right | 4:58 |
| 8. | cun.t.ree-(b)$ong | 0:43 |
| 9. | (kanga)Roo-Paulz Drag Race | 3:33 |
| 10. | Dementia | 3:34 |
| 11. | Notland | 3:25 |
| 12. | Symptoms of being 30 | 3:14 |
| 13. | S.L.33.P | 1:33 |
Credits
All songs written by Mark Neal
Produced and recorded by Michael Strong
Performed by Mark Neal & Michael Strong
With special guests:
Kris Nelson on ‘The White Star Hotel’
Taylah Ashleigh on ‘Let’s Take A Risk’, ‘Debut’, ‘The White Star Hotel’, ‘Raised Right’, ‘Dementia’, & ‘Symptoms of being 30’.
Damien Goerke on ‘Debut’, ‘I Smell You Everywhere’, & ‘Dementia’.
