Stream: T.O.L.D., ‘Return Forever’

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T.O.L.D. (Photo by Hassan Rahim)
T.O.L.D. (Photo by Hassan Rahim)

T.O.L.D. stands for The Order of Life and Death, the nom de tune of a transplanted Englishman, Dan Smith, who has found a new home and label home (IAMSOUND Records) in Los Angeles. His elegant synth-pop first came on the radar in late 2014 with the single “Lucifer’s Eyes,” part of his EP “Heaven” that earned comparisons to the likes of The xx and Tanlines. T.O.L.D. returned today with “Return Forever,” a tune he originally wrote with Jas Shaw of Simian Mobile Disco and which, he told Pigeons & Planes, “emerged from a studio in Echo Park” three years later. “A kind of Nietzschean dance song.” From seemingly humble beginings, the song builds to a sweeping chorus. No full details yet, but a full-length made with producer Tom Biller (with additional production and mixing by Peter Katis) will be released in late spring or early summer. On social media, T.O.L.D. described it as “my gospel album,” and “Return Forever” is a striking first hymn.

||| Stream: “Return Forever”

||| Also: Watch the Vlad Sepetov-directed video for “Return Forever”