“Why is that just your face on the cover?” someone sharply asks Tom Krell during the improvised “Q and A session” he jokingly throws in the midst of his emphatic performance at noticeably packed Belgrave. “Cause it’s just me… I write all the music. Don’t mind them, they’re just my friends who help me play live!”, answers Tom facetiously waving his bandmates away, and in such a charming manner that if you didn’t know that Krell was basically the only person behind How to Dress Well project, you’d hardly tell if he wasn’t just being cheeky.

That session revealed quite a few other things, among which there was a sincere confession that he and his childhood friend, who also played drums that night, were in an emo band about 8-10 years ago. Sure, it might have been yet another joke, judging by how much Tom was “pranking” that night. However, that particular episode seems truthful enough, especially considering the fact that Krell and his band managed to establish that resolute emotional connection with the audience that night, and, as a result, successfully translate the message that is often so palpable in his distinct glitch-R&B music.

After performing ‘My Precious Love’ from his latest record titled ‘What is This Heart?’ and showcasing his undeniably impressive vocal skills, Tom stops to announce that he personally rates his voice “6 out of 10” that night, complaining about feeling grumpy, still jetlagged and exhausted from being in the middle of a long international tour, which makes him look almost like a pop diva who is tired of waiting for their next grammy.  However, How to Dress Well occupies another, experimental, somewhat deeper and frankly more heartfelt not in just its sound but in its nature as well, grammy-free segment of music. And such captivating performances prove that he is doing quite a good job at that.

Stepan Nilov

photo 1: plugnplaymusicblog.com
photo 2: stereogum.com