By Carissa Leong, intern

Thumbnail credit: Ciara McMullan (@ciaramcmullanmedia)

On March 15, Tom Odell had a victorious homecoming at the first of two sold-out shows at the Roundhouse in London while on tour for his newest album Black Friday. Accompanied by his backing band, his soulful vocals pulled the audience from triumphant highs to melancholic lows and back up again, multiple times over with apparent effortlessness.

To kick off the night, the sole opening act Sofia Isella was just nineteen but had the stage presence of a performer who had been in the industry for over a decade. Her performance was haunting and magnetic, successfully engaging the audience in ways that openers often fail to with a combination of breathy whispers, full-bodied vocals and casual chats. Taking advantage of her multi-instrumental background, Isella swayed in the spotlight while providing her own violin accompaniment to the last song on her setlist “I Looked the Future in the Eyes, It’s Mine.”

When Tom Odell finally took the stage, one of the most immediately striking characteristics was the show’s visuals. It reflected the cinematic simplicity prevalent in his album art and music videos, playing well with lighting, colors and shadows. From a spotlight carving him an isolated silhouette at his piano to his band’s shadows shifting across a piercing red backdrop, the lighting designers made the show visually engaging while staying true to Odell’s grounded, minimalist aesthetic.

The moment that the first lyric rang through the air, a somber opening to “Somebody Else,” cheers immediately melted into a reverent silence at the raw emotionality of Odell’s live vocals thundering through the Roundhouse. The air of quiet awe was consistent with many of the ballads throughout the set. That was not to say that audience engagement was dissuaded at all, however, as many were happy to join their voices to the upbeat and popular songs. On the more spirited end, Odell directly employed crowd participation to call back parts of the anthemic track “Hold Me,” and there was a point where he amped the energy all the way up by clambering on top of his piano to sing.

Backdropping Odell’s vocal and piano performance was a whole host of different instruments, from the conventional guitar, bass and drums to the more classical violin, trumpet and saxophone that lent a jazzier edge less typical of indie rock singer-songwriters. The backing band contributed to layered compositions that made the emotional lows more heart-wrenching and emotional highs even more buoyant.

Between songs, Odell included a love letter to the host city. Introducing “Long Way Down,” the title track from his 2013 album, he reminisced that it was the first song he wrote when he moved to London at around twenty years-old–over a decade ago, back when his present success was just hypothetical. He called out London as the best city which met an eruption of biased, infectious cheering.

Further into the set, homage was also paid to Elton John whom Odell performed with in the past. For a nostalgic duet of “Tiny Dancer,” Abigail Morris, the singer of indie group The Last Dinner Party, was invited to the stage. It was well-received and many show-goers echoed the pair’s performance of the classic with their own attachment to the song.

Tom Odell wrapped up the night with an ode to his expansive discography, leaving the audience with some of his newest music including the TikTok viral “Black Friday” but creating a final, bittersweet conclusion with 2013’s “Another Love,” his most popular song to date. A testament to the universality of his songwriting, I was one among hundreds who couldn’t help but relate to the utterly human topics confronted so artistically by the night’s performance.