Cullen Omori knows that comparisons of his first solo effort New Misery will be made to the music of the now defunct group Smith Westerns. Although he co-founded the group when he was 17 and it has had an enormous impact on his career; the new solo album makes a concerted effort to separate itself from the “punk meets glam” sound that the Smith Westerns were known for. Cullen, now 25, shows a promising future with his new album, “In my mind I really wrote an album that, if I was in Smith Westerns, would essentially be all the singles,” Omori told BEAT Magazine about creating New Misery. “I went through a real big phase of not really knowing what I wanted to do or who I was gonna be. The tracklisting is almost exactly in the order that I wrote the songs. I started with “No Big Deal” and ended with “New Misery” from a writing standpoint. It’s kind of a cool long form statement – this is what I am or was dealing with during my time after being in that buzz band.” Ultimately, New Misery is an ambitious debut solo album that successfully showcases Omori’s signature airy vocals, introspective and bittersweet lyrics over some infectious indie-pop melodies. Check out the first single “Cinnamon” below:
New Misery Tracklist:
01. No Big Deal
02. Two Kinds
03. Hey Girl
04. And Yet the World Still Turns
05. Cinnamon
06. Poison Dart
07. Sour Silk
08. Synthetic Romance
09. Be a Man
10. LOM
11. New Misery
