Today, GRAMMY-nominated duo ODESZA announce their brand-new album ‘The Last Goodbye’ which will be released July 22 via Foreign Family Collective/Ninja Tune. The album will be available on vinyl, available for pre-order here.
Symphonic, vast, and emotionally stirring, ‘The Last Goodbye’ is the duo’s most ambitious album to date. Nostalgic yet rooted in the present, it serves as a sweeping sonic experience that speaks to themes of connection and reminiscence. Interwoven with both the new and the old, the album is interspersed with personal audio clips from home video footage, hypnotherapy sessions and even the voices of the duo’s parents, plus features The Knocks, Bettye LaVette, MARO, Låpsley, Ólafur Arnalds, Julianna Barwick, Izzy Bizu and Charlie Houston. These collaborations follow previous high-profile musical partnerships with the likes of Leon Bridges, Little Dragon, Regina Spektor, RY X, Naomi Wild, and more.
Is there ever a really a Last Goodbye? We don’t think there is.
So, from us to you. The Last Goodbye, the Album. Out July 22nd. Available for pre-order now. Love Letter feat. @theknocks, our next single is out now ✨https://t.co/vgq4pYHLYg pic.twitter.com/RRTTJo3jSx
— ODESZA (@odesza) March 23, 2022
Discussing the album, Odesza say: “Over the past few years we’ve been able to reflect on who we are, what it means to do what we do, and in the end, who we are doing this for. We became focused and inspired by the impact our families and friends have imprinted on us and how we want to continue to echo that out as we move through this life. We found comfort in the fact that those who we love stay with us, that they become intrinsically part of us, in a way. Is there ever a really a Last Goodbye? We don’t think there is. So, from us to you. The Last Goodbye, the album.”
New single “Love Letter (feat. The Knocks)”, is also released today. Featuring a dynamic, emotive vocal refrain and orchestral synths, the track joins previous singles “The Last Goodbye” (feat. Bettye LaVette), celebrated as, “a sleek, propulsive stunner” by Billboard and “powerful” by Wonderland, and “Better Now” (feat. MARO), deemed an “uplifting track ready for spring” by Notion. The singles have achieved a combined 13 million streams globally to date, plus widespread radio support from the likes of Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, BBC Radio 1’s Pete Tong, Danny Howard and Sian Eleri, plus KISS Dance and Capital Dance.
Discussing collaborating with Odesza on “Love Letter”, The Knocks say, “This song has had a wild ride! It was originally started about 5 years ago and went through many versions before ODESZA took it to its final form. We always knew there was something really special about it. It was one of those ideas we kept coming back to and being frustrated by because we knew it was amazing but we couldn’t get it totally right.
Cut to us meeting the ODESZA guys backstage at a festival after both being fans of each other and eventually chatted about doing a song together. We started sharing original ideas back and forth. They loved “Love Letter” and were going to work on it remotely. A year or so passed when we reconnected and they said they weren’t sure they figured it out… so we were back to the drawing board. Then one day, we got a text from the guys out of the blue saying they had cracked it! This new version blew our minds and we felt like it had finally found its rightful home. The rest is history.”
Photo credit: Alexander Babarikin