Who’d have guessed that a dude who first came to attention a decade ago guesting on a cheesy Chase & Status drum & bass track would likely now be heading for his third chart-topping album? Tom Grennan’s done well.
His first two albums lent into singer-songwriter territory. His last one became playful. On his fourth, the convolutedly titled Everywhere I Went Led Me To Where I Didn't Want To Be, he’s aiming for the Olly Murs mountaintops.
By Tom Grennan we mean Grennan, regular collaborators Dan Grech-Marguerat and Mike Needle, plus new associate, US mega-songsmith Justin Tranter. Between them, the latter three have built hits for everyone from Justin Bieber to Liam Gallagher, Selena Gomez to James Blunt.
They muster compressed, maximalist production, like a rictus grin reimagined as an atomic explosion. Imagine “Uptown Funk” on so many steroids it’s ramped up from sleek to unrecognizably pumped. Despite this, there are sometimes tasty tunes underneath.
Opener “Full Attention” sounds like a modern singalong remix of an Italo-house banger from 1990, “Diamond” is catchy piano-funk, the single “Shadowboxing” is a stomping ode to self-improvement, akin to Backstreet Boys’ finest, and “Higher” is a Dua Lipa-esque disco chug. Despite everything being hosed in glutinous saccharine, if the whole was like these, it’d be more palatable.
Grennan has said he’s aiming for a sound akin to George Michael, Prince and Freddie Mercury. He’s nowhere near the first two but, to be fair, “Dirty Dishes” effectively channels “Another One Bites the Dust” vibes, and “Drama Queen” is the album’s best song, redolent of Freddie’s penchant for epic musical theatre balladry (like “The Show Must Go On”). Its self-lacerating lyrics are sharp, too. In fact, the words are pop but nifty throughout.
Grennan’s committed bellow-singing is an acquired taste. He certainly gives it everything. The short of it is that, of the 15 songs on Everywhere I Went Led Me To Where I Didn't Want To Be, I’d actively listen to three, wouldn’t turn another three off on the radio, and would run fast away from the stentorian candy that comprises the rest.
Below: watch the video for "Full Attention" by Tom Grennan
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