Ahead of the release of his new album Evering Road, CALM caught up with musician Tom Grennan. He chatted about holding his hands up to past mistakes, why he starts every day with ‘The Tom Shake’ and how he wants the album to lift your spirits during lockdown.
You can sense the anticipation in Tom’s voice as he talks about his upcoming album. Evering Road is an intimate reflection on the street he lived on with his ex girlfriend and the breakdown of their relationship. Describing it as a record about “love, heartbreak and redemption”, Tom is eager for its release on the 12th March.
“Evering Road is about going through a breakup, realising I was the toxic one in the relationship and that I needed to love myself before I could love anybody else. It’s not a breakup album in the sense that I want people to feel sorry for me, it’s about owning up to the things I did and holding up my hands to say I’m a human being and I’ve made mistakes. I wanted to get honest with my lyrics and creating the album was therapeutic for me. It allowed me to open up to myself and other people and start making changes in my life.”
Despite the heavy topic, don’t expect to be reaching for the tissues. Evering Road is an uplifting listen, gospel influences are weaved into tracks and it’s a raw, honest account about moving on from a relationship. His single Little Bit of Love is about toxic masculinity and unconditional love, showing a softer side to the singer. Tom hopes the album will inspire others to speak up when they’re struggling:
“I didn’t want to open up and when I did, it was so liberating for me."
"My advice would be to be honest with yourself and know that you have people you can talk to, whether that’s professionals, friends or family. When I was honest with myself, I started breaking down that barrier.”