Rot: Vinyl LP tennyson

Luke Pretty returns with ‘Rot’, his first full-length LP, out 18th February 2022 on Counter Records.

Throughout the album’s 12 tracks Luke refines the signature Tennyson sound, making his flurried beats come into focus and his already riveting hooks catchier. This is also the first project in which Luke lends his voice to almost every song, with the exception coming from a feature with singer-songwriter Rae Morris on the pained but heartfelt ‘Slow Dance’. Dramatic dynamics and emotional weight are the driving force of ‘Rot’, making for pop music fit for misfits.

Written during a period of distress, after developing a sudden hearing condition brought on by mold exposure, ‘Rot’ is a musical diary of a brain gone sideways; the soundtrack of a young artist on the brink of his own disaster. As an escape from these troubles, Luke found solace in what he knew best. He wrote songs on his computer, more to keep his hands busy than thoughtful expression.

“I was working on these tiny little speakers and making what I thought was garbage,” he remembers, but when he moved back into his newly renovated room and listened back to the music, the melodies made him cry. “It sounded like what I went through,” he says.

The completion of ‘Rot’ then marks a metaphorical and artistic milestone for Luke. “I’m starting to get more of a sense of what my skill set is,” he says, “Somehow, I’ve gotten a pretty strong handle on controlling sound in a very specific way. I don’t think it’s genius or sparks or something. I think I’m just looking at the right things by luck”.