The Top 25 Albums Of 2021 (So Far): Odette - 'Herald'

In her second album, Odette leaves nothing to the imagination and bares her soul from the outset. 

Herald is a musically emotive as it is lyrically: there is a sense of dread and fear that propels the album with a drastic yet enticing pace. It’s hard not to feel on edge when listening to it, and yet that is the most alluring aspect of the album as a whole.

The catharsis throughout Herald feels like the first steps back on the dancefloor after crying in the club bathroom. It’s a rush of overwhelming emotion that can be difficult to track, whether it’s joyous or heartbreaking, and yet we never want it to end. 

Odette has created something here that will simultaneously speak to so much of her audience while remaining incredibly personal. The lilting close to the album in Mandible brings her listers smack bang down to earth in the most phenomenal way - and concludes the journey of Herald perfectly.

"This album is a time capsule, like all albums," Odette told The Music earlier this year.

"Inside it, I have placed some of my most personal experiences, fears, flaws and hopes. There is an intensity to this record that formed during years of undiagnosed borderline turbulence. I lost friends, lovers and family members. I lost sight of myself. Herald details my innermost thoughts, my reactions to the senses.

A must-listen for 2021.