Released: May 30
Channelling the best of Europop, Tom Aspaul throws things back to the early ‘00s on his feelgood second album ‘Life In Plastic’.
Arriving two years after his debut long-player ‘Black Country Disco’, and subsequent remix LP ‘Black Country Discothéque, the new record sees the singer-songwriter reunite with producer Gil Lewis on 10 new tracks, which he calls a “celebration […] of European music”.
“I wanted to widen the palette of references on this record to encompass sounds and genres I’d never felt confident enough to explore before,” says Tom. “At its core, ‘Life in Plastic’ is all about subverting what I present to the world.”
Opening with lead single Let Them (It’s All Love), the album presents slick, shiny production, underpinned by strikingly contemplative lyrics inspired by the circumstances and challenges Tom found himself facing over the past two years.
While releasing his first LP at the height of a global pandemic, the 35-year-old found himself returning to his family home in the midlands, unable to take the record out on the road, and questioning his personal relationships that had come under strain as a result of external circumstances.
Album cut Statues – one of the earliest songs from the album sessions – sees the hitmaker “out here on my own”, while the playful Listen 2 Nicole – inspired by the pop bangers of Nicole Scherzinger and the Pussycat Dolls – riffs off some of her biggest hits as he warns himself not to revisit a past relationship.
Across the set, there’s an overarching desire for escapism, with tracks like Wake Up In The Sun and Thessaloniki seeing the star take himself away from the mundane realities of day-to-day living to a world of sun, sea and sexuality – which he continues to explore across the LP, not least of all on pre-release track Kiss It, a standout single of the year so far.
Meanwhile, Millionaire sees Tom – who continues to self-release his music as an independent artist – highlight “the dichotomy between my persona as a ‘popstar’ and the fact I live at home with my parents.”
It comes to a head on Effigy; a stellar, trance-inspired number that addresses the trauma and baggage of a failed relationship, and how it continues to impact his life, head-on. Like a sequel to his fan-favourite hit Traces, it’s perhaps the most cinematic track on the record and a perfect example of Tom’s fine pop sensibilities.
‘Life In Plastic’ might be uptempo, but beneath the dancefloor beats and glossy production is his most personal album to date, revealing what life has really been like for independent artists fighting to keep their careers alight over the past two years.
The brilliance, though, is that it’s first and foremost a monster pop record and further evidence that Tom Aspaul should by all accounts be one of the UK’s biggest music stars.
‘Life In Plastic’ is available now digitally and up for pre-order on physical formats.
