DWARROWDELF mastermind and multi-instrumentalist, Tom O’Dell looks to draw inspiration from the fantasy world of Tolkien (project name aside) but also blend real world weight and emotion into a powerful delivery. Latest release, The Fallen Leaves, has done just that and a whole lot more besides. Since the initial EP release Of Darkened Halls in 2017, Tom has evolved his writing and honed the compositions, each release providing a further step up from its predecessor. The Fallen Leaves feels like a culmination of a musical journey. While earlier works played with more of the fantasy elements, Tom was keen to push the more real-life influences into these new tracks.
Reflecting on the writing process. Tom offers that he was “quite nervous about this one. It’s a very personal album, different to what I’ve put out before.” Not that he has reason to be nervous. Reception for the fourth album has been widely excellent from both critical and fan points of view. Tom highlights the key difference between The Fallen Leaves and previous albums. “The first three albums were made within a year and a half. It was very much I’m making Lord Of The Rings albums, here we go. Then the world changed. DWARROWDELF took a bit of a back seat. When I picked it up again, things were very different. The lyrical front had been explicit Tolkien and I wanted to explore more themes and music. It still felt DWARROWDELF, I didn’t want to make a new project.”
This is very evident, in the tracks of the album. “To Dust We All Return was the first one I wrote and I was experiencing some heartbreak in life and the raw emotion spilled into the music. Deliverance was started around that time as well and their emotion was also in there too. Then Elden Ring came along and the atmosphere was a good way to use a metaphor for my sadness and journey of those few months through a fantasy filter. It was not too much of a departure for DWARROWDELF.”
With the lyrical content exposing a heavy weight subject matter. The musical compositions on the album can often juxtapose the raw, bleakness with at times uplifting melodies. This is very evident in the final passages of Deliverance. Tom readily picks up on this idea, with a grin explaining, “the final choir there uses the cheesy four chord progression of power metal that I’m contractually obliged to use.” Going on to say, “I didn’t want to just write seven tracks of I’m very upset. I wanted to come out the other side and find acceptance.”
It is also this compositional style that has helped with the well-rounded reception of this album. The happier melodies do tend to stick in a listener’s mind more and as Tom opines “…create that memorable hook, that the listener will find themselves humming. Having written power metal as well, it’s quite an easy space for me to adopt.”
What is always interesting with a long-standing solo project is how the project grows as a reflection of the musician behind it. Tom is no different, he freely admits, “DWARROWDELF is me. It’s the albums I wanted to make at that particular time. I’ve grown up as a person as well, each album has got more and more unique. The first one in hindsight might be my attempt at a SUMMONING album but Evenstar is mine and The Fallen Leaves takes that a step further.” While it is possible to identify specific genre/artist influences in his work, DWARROWDELF doesn’t fit into a neat category per se and that helps keep Tom’s musical identity secure.
One of the pitfalls that can face a solo artist is the solitude of creativity. With a band, there are sounding boards of influence and other instrumentalists to add dynamics and textures that may otherwise have been missed. Tom’s approach to navigating this though is having a close group of people to bounce ideas off of and send out drafts for review. “Being my own critic is the biggest issue, but sending files to four or five of my trusted confidants who wouldn’t shy away from criticism really helps. I couldn’t be a solo artist who didn’t take feedback, there’d be too much tunnel vision.”
“This album more than any other would work live, the early material wouldn’t translate too well.” This is thought process when posed with the idea of taking DWARROWDELF on the road. It does have the hooks and riffs for an audience to pick up on and while there are artists out there who do take these types of projects to audiences. While there are logistical issues to be considered amongst many other things, Tom is not totally against the idea. “It’s more likely than it has been in the past.”
Whatever the future may hold for the project, Tom has certainly been able to produce a highly engaging body of work. An approachable artist with multi-faceted influences who is able to draw together fantasy and cold reality and weave a relatable narrative. Tom sums much of it up, “the man who wrote The Fallen Leaves is a lot happier now than what is reflected in those songs.” With a laugh he continues, “it does get better. You may feel crap and things may be going badly wrong but it does get better, you will get through it.”
The Fallen Leaves is out now via Northern Silence Productions.
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