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Vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Cullen Omori offers an individual perspective on indie pop with his darkly tuneful and atmospheric songs. After the breakup of his flashy rock band <a href="spotify:artist:3yEqgEvatASNm30zZR3ZHl">the Smith Westerns</a>, Omori went solo and took a detour into moody indie pop with 2016's New Misery, while 2018's The Diet was a more expansive and musically diverse effort.
Omori was one of the founders of the Chicago-based band <a href="spotify:artist:3yEqgEvatASNm30zZR3ZHl">the Smith Westerns</a>, who formed in 2007 and became an indie success story with the 2011 album Dye It Blonde. However, after 2013's Soft Will received a cool reception from fans and the press, creative differences split the group in late 2014. Omori was still in high school when he formed <a href="spotify:artist:3yEqgEvatASNm30zZR3ZHl">the Smith Westerns</a>, and the breakup had a heavy impact on him. He took a day job in a hospital, and began adding to a batch of songs he'd started writing before the band's collapse. Working with musician Adam Gil, Omori began laying down lo-fi demos of his new tunes, which were a calmer departure from <a href="spotify:artist:3yEqgEvatASNm30zZR3ZHl">the Smith Westerns</a>' garage-glam fusion.
<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sub+Pop%22">Sub Pop</a> struck a deal with Omori, and he went into the studio with producer Shane Stoneback to record his debut album. The finished product, New Misery, was released on March 18, 2016; Omori followed the release with a U.S. tour. In the wake of New Misery's release, Omori went through a chaotic period that included a serious auto accident, a difficult romantic breakup, and leaving Chicago for Los Angeles. These life changes informed Omori's songwriting for his second solo effort, 2018's The Diet, that found him working with a larger crew of musicians as well as producer <a href="spotify:artist:4UZiBwBu4VdLkQ7h7rISRZ">Taylor Locke</a>. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Omori was one of the founders of the Chicago-based band <a href="spotify:artist:3yEqgEvatASNm30zZR3ZHl">the Smith Westerns</a>, who formed in 2007 and became an indie success story with the 2011 album Dye It Blonde. However, after 2013's Soft Will received a cool reception from fans and the press, creative differences split the group in late 2014. Omori was still in high school when he formed <a href="spotify:artist:3yEqgEvatASNm30zZR3ZHl">the Smith Westerns</a>, and the breakup had a heavy impact on him. He took a day job in a hospital, and began adding to a batch of songs he'd started writing before the band's collapse. Working with musician Adam Gil, Omori began laying down lo-fi demos of his new tunes, which were a calmer departure from <a href="spotify:artist:3yEqgEvatASNm30zZR3ZHl">the Smith Westerns</a>' garage-glam fusion.
<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sub+Pop%22">Sub Pop</a> struck a deal with Omori, and he went into the studio with producer Shane Stoneback to record his debut album. The finished product, New Misery, was released on March 18, 2016; Omori followed the release with a U.S. tour. In the wake of New Misery's release, Omori went through a chaotic period that included a serious auto accident, a difficult romantic breakup, and leaving Chicago for Los Angeles. These life changes informed Omori's songwriting for his second solo effort, 2018's The Diet, that found him working with a larger crew of musicians as well as producer <a href="spotify:artist:4UZiBwBu4VdLkQ7h7rISRZ">Taylor Locke</a>. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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