After releasing all but one track, New York singer and songwriter Leo Sawikin is finally set to release his album Till You’re Somebody Else on January 24, the follow-up to his 2021 debut, Row Me Away.

Sawikin says he approached the sessions with Phil Ek differently from his previous ones. The album was recorded at Studio Litho in Seattle and produced by Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Fleet Foxes, The Shins, Band of Horses).
Leo Sawikin said of the new album, “I’m always trying to explore new musical possibilities. For one, I wanted to do a record that showcased my chord voicings in a much more up-front way than I had in the past. And on previous recordings, I worked with a full backing band, but this time Phil encouraged me to do all the guitar parts myself, as well as creating and playing keyboard parts. I found my way to a guitar style that combines elements from Joni Mitchell, Alex Chilton, and Johnny Greenwood. It was quite a challenge, but I feel like there’s more of me on this album, and that we really were able to distill the songs to their essence.”
Sawikin describes his solo work as “shoegaze-y Britpop,” and this is apparent in songs he’s already released, including his charting hit “Till You’re Somebody Else,” released April 2. It reached the #1 spot on the Mediabase A/C Independent Artists Chart and reached #26 on Billboard’s AC Chart. A guitar-driven vibe evokes 80s, 90s, and early aughts bands as diverse as The Cure and early Coldplay, which Sawikin grew up hearing from the backseat of the family car.

Another highlight of the album is Sawikin’s most streamed track to date, “The Same Mistakes,” which has resonated with fans globally. Other tracks include the most recent “Am I Ever Gonna Fly Again,” “What Is the Answer,” and “Hold On,” which many have said is an emotional rollercoaster.
Rounding out the album are “New York I’m Coming Home,” an uplifting song about the joys of coming home after a long trip and seeing your surroundings with new eyes, as well as “This River,” and the yet-to-be-released “The Life We Choose,” which encapsulates the album’s themes of ever-evolving identities and artistic self-discovery.

After a year-long cross-country tour with Jon McLaughlin, Sawikin will bring the songs of Till You’re Somebody Else to Alphaville in Brooklyn on January 30 for a special album release show. Tickets are available here.
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