How to Dress Well

Tom Krell cuts a looming figure with his 6’4’’ frame towering above others. What surprises most is that Krell has the voice to match his distinctive height. Those who were near the Hamilton Airport Stage this past Saturday were in for a treat in the form of Krell’s delectable falsetto.

With his latest record, “What is This Heart?”, Krell has separated himself from the torch-bearer role thrust on him by buzz-purveying music blogs. Despite his singing style, Krell is much more than a poster-boy for the recent insurgence of so-called “alternative” R&B. On WITH, his third full-length release, Krell shuns the crass stylings of the lesser creatives he’s been grouped with in the past and succeeds in making a brilliant sounding pop record that is at once his most ambitious and intimate yet.

Clad in an indigo blue button-up, Nike Air tee, designer sweatpants, and Kobe’s on his feet to help him balance out well, Krell was in jovial spirits. Despite the chill in the air, Krell was able to create a warm atmosphere with the help of his band.

The majority of Krell’s set list was culled from WITH, but the greater portion of the audience seemed to already be aware of the June release. Supercrawl is very much a public festival, with people walking down James during and in between shows, but the crowd gathered by Jackson Square did their very best to maintain a reverent silence for Krell.

Despite the sombre nature of some of the songs he was performing, Krell allowed himself the odd wisecrack to relieve the inevitable tension. During one breather, Krell pointed to his guitarist and keyboardist and noted that they were Canadian to the obvious delight of the crowd. During another, he gave a shoutout to Hamilton’s own Jessy Lanza and all the dogs at the festival. Before launching into his next song, Krell pointed to the drone flitting around the overcast sky and jokingly asked, “can we get that drone out of there?”

The intricately produced music did not suffer when being translated to the live setting by a three-piece band. “Repeat Pleasure” and “Childhood Faith In Love” were still as delightfully catchy as their album counterparts, and Krell’s undeniable passion was infectious. As he crooned into his two separate mics, Krell clutched at his shirt as if he didn’t know what to do with all his pent-up angst.

The Chicago resident’s sadness soon found an outlet in “Suicide Dream 1”, a cut from his debut record. Krell explained that the song had been written for his best friend who promptly passed away soon after it came out. The mournful track was chill-inducing in its starkness.

I stopped going to church because I don’t believe in god anymore, but Krell’s performance of “Set It Right” — before which he reminded everyone that Supercrawl was a special festival but that there were still “a lot of hungry people out there” — was much more spiritual than anything I’ve ever felt while kneeling on pews.

The backing track died down for Krell to list off the names of people he missed, but as if he recognized that everyone was on the verge of tears (myself included), Krell launched into an uplifting rendition of Young Thug’s “Lifestyle” which put a smile on everyone’s face.

In many ways this thematic dichotomy represents everything Krell’s music is about: confronting your own burdensome issues while keeping the ability to have fun and laugh at yourself close to heart.