2020-10-09
Tom John Hall
My Big Album is a collection of oddball pop songs by Tom John Hall made between 2016 and 2020. An ambitious double vinyl debut and a cathartic exercise in channeling big thoughts and feelings through music to let them drift off into the ether, it takes its cues in equal parts from the satirical wisdom of Randy Newman and the affecting openness of Owen, with a penchant for wonky synths and no shortage of unanticiapted detours. Tom John Hall developed his particular brand of songwriting over many years honing the craft, inspired by a beloved local music and alternative arts scene of his hometown, Derby. My Big Album is a record made for celebrating the loving act of making something, in spite of and in reaction to a senseless world, for the sake of making something. "This is my last song..." is a claim made in "Very Strange Times" - with two songs left in the chamber, for anyone watching the tracklist - and continues as the album's epic autobiographical final act. But the statement began as an authentic one, written at a personal low point and intended to be a send-and-forget farewell to music making. By the end of its 11 minutes, it's clear that there will never be a last song. My Big Album became an opening statment by somoene who, for better or for worse, lives and breathes for music making.