Odesza - The Last Goodbye Album Release

Happy Odesza release day, my beautiful friends! Odesza has released their new album "The Last Goodbye."

Odesza is an electronic duo consisting of Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight based out of Bellingham, Washington, USA. Since their start in 2012, they created their own record label, Foreign Family Collective, and as of today have released 4 studio albums. In 2020, they launched a collaborative project with Golden Features, under the alias BROSNON. Today's release is their 4th studio album; the last Odesza album released was A Moment Apart back in 2017.

If you've never heard of Odesza, the best way I can think to describe them is "chill vibes with sparkles in the air." I am a huge fan because their music feels like a happy, sunny day; I can always envision myself dancing around in the crowd at a festival when listening to them. I don't remember how I discovered their music, but the first time I saw them live was at Austin City Limits in 2018, and it was the prettiest set I've ever seen.

Odesza performing the VIP Remix of "It's Only Love" at Austin City Limits Music Festival 2018

Since February, they've slowly released 6 songs off the new album. They started with "The Last Goodbye" followed by "Better Now," "Love letter," "Behind the Sun," "Wide Awake," and most recently, "Light of Day." "The Last Goodbye" was a stunning release featuring Bettye LaVette, because the song samples from LaVette's 1965 track "Let Me Down Easy." The purpose of this unique collaboration is to bring everlasting pieces into the modern, electronic era. They piggybacked off their own concept with the powerful song"Behind the Sun," featuring Iranian singer Simin Ghanem's vocals from her song "Seeb." The duo stated on their instagram: "Even without being able to understand the lyrics and context we were drawn to the emotion and power she’s able to convey."

I listened to the album first thing this morning, and my heart strings were immediately pulled by the first track "This Version of You." I listened to the words closely, taking in what Juliana Barwick was saying, setting the tone for the rest of the album. As per any Odesza album, this one takes you on an inward journey, and this one had me reflect on each version of me. Odesza's statement on the album is that "Time may continue to move forward but the imprint of those we’ve come to know will always echo through. The Last Goodbye is a reminder that there is no last goodbye."

This album is a beautiful reminder that we are constantly growing and changing as people. Each new version of ourselves is composed of echoes of our past versions; everything we experience and everyone we encounter are the building blocks of our evolving self. There truly never is a last goodbye, because the things that impact us stay with us forever.

Happy listening, Odesza fam! I hope you all will get to experience this live soon; I'll be at the Austin date. Let me know your thoughts on this album. ⬡