#tom addison

[not-equippedforthis]

listened to 'the old witch sleep and the good men grace' for the first time and i think my jaw dropped and soul ascended 3 separate times

[soundsfaebutokay]

Sometimes I just find myself smiling my way through a TAD album (yes, even the sad, angry songs) because it's just really, really so much fun to witness them be so exceptionally good at this. The evocative songwriting, the painstaking detail in the music and lyrics that we can pick apart for years, the complex and vivid soundscapes, those incredible vocals that hold us so captivated—I just find so much delight in the sheer talent, competence, and effort that made all of these things come together.

Months ago I wrote that I love how The Amazing Devil values storytelling over polish—but make no mistake, I'm aware that every single choice about when to dazzle us with larger-than-life musical prowess and when to let the messy humanity show in the cracks was a very deliberate artistic decision. (Can you imagine if they toned down the epic chaos of "King" to be more radio-friendly? Or if "Drinking Song" were autotuned to oblivion? Gah. No.) I'm so grateful they fought so hard to keep the independence to do whatever the fuck they want, because "whatever the fuck they want" is bloody fantastic. They're masters of their art who've got us in their thrall and I just wanna applaud them for it. 10/10 good job taking over my entire goddamn life.

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OK I know I already gave a shout-out to Tom Addison's drumming on The Horror and the Wild, but I just listened to my entire Bitcher playlist with headphones, and I just need to enthuse for a minute about how exceptional Tom Addison is. Compare what he does to the drums in Florence + the Machine or Hozier, for instance, two other musicians you might also describe as feral fae emerging from the swamp, who have astonishing talent plus the money to hire the best studio musicians and engineers. They also use what you might call a deep, driving drumbeat, but they're plain and boring compared to what Tom Addison does. He doesn't just repeat the same thing over and over again through the song; each time it's a tiny bit different. Not complexity for complexity's sake, not to show off, but the kind that hooks you subconsciously, engages that part of your brain that thinks music is the gods speaking to you.

Also the drums don't just sit there in the middle: the four mics are well separated in the mix. You can hear the fact that the different drums are in different places, so your brain can follow them around physically in the space.

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One of the things about The Horror and the Wild that reaches in and grabs me by the esophagus is the drumming, so I'd like to give a shout-out to the drummer, Tom Addison (also mixer and co-producer):

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A post shared by Tom Addison (@tomaddisonmusic) on Aug 17, 2019 at 12:57pm PDT

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