How to Dress Well w. MAIDS, Jack Lion
Gabe’s — Thursday, April 2 at 10 p.m.
Tom Krell, a.k.a. How To Dress Well, performs at Gabe’s Thursday as a part of the Mission Creek Music Festival. Known for his ethereal, experimental production and captivating falsetto, Krell is often described in association with the rise of alt-R&B, but the label doesn’t really do justice to the scope of his music and what he’s trying to do with it. The common denominator of Krell’s music is simply emotional expression.
“Whether it’s Young Thug or Bruce Springsteen, I think the reason I gravitate toward the music I gravitate towards is because of the expressive dimension,” said Krell. “That is true of ambient and electronic music as well.”
In Krell’s latest album, What Is This Heart?, emotional expression is plainly at the forefront, though in contradictory yet captivating ways. At its heaviest, the combination of the dissonant production and Krell’s lyrics — which touch upon topics of relationships, family and death — allow the listener to feel deeply connected with him emotionally while at the same time physically detached in the isolated world he has created. When Krell veers into more of a pop-like direction, the desire to move is infectious yet it feels imbued with so much more emotion than what you’d associate with dance music.
Krell’s live performances are often described as immersive and there’s little doubt that it’s his focus on emotional expression that drives that. Indeed, it’s a testament to Krell’s willingness to invest himself so rawly in his music, that even when his music is at its most dissonant and turbulent, it doesn’t unsettle audiences so much as it draws them into listen closer. He puts himself out there so much, they can’t help but join him.
