Overmono are back. Tom and Ed Russell have announced Pure Devotion, their second album, arriving August 7th via XL Recordings. Lead single “Lockup” is out now and it hits exactly as hard as you would expect from a duo who have spent the better part of a decade making some of the most viscerally physical electronic music in the UK.
Tom and Ed Russell grew up in rural South Wales, a place where they had to make their own fun. Through putting on parties in the back rooms of pubs and throwing free parties, the duo enjoyed their formative years away from the noise of big cities, a freedom that shaped the sound of Overmono. Prior to forming Overmono, Tom produced hard techno under the name Truss. While Ed made drum and bass and rave-inspired tracks as Tessela. The two eventually packed a car full of gear, hired a cottage in Wales with no agenda, and came out the other side with a new project. They started dropping music through their own label Poly Kicks before releasing a run of EPs on XL Recordings from 2020.
Their debut album Good Lies arrived in May 2023, peaked at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart, and earned a Metacritic score of 83 — signifying universal acclaim. The Guardian declared “UK rave history is distilled to perfection.” Coachella followed. So did sold-out headline shows in Brooklyn, Toronto, London, Osaka and Tokyo. Their audio-visual live show won Best Live Act at the DJ Mag Best of British Awards. Pure Devotion, named after the live event series they launched in 2024, is where the story goes next.
The Album and the Method
‘Pure Devotion’ took shape across two isolated recording retreats. One in Iceland, one in Spain, with Overmono pushing their process deep into mad-scientist territory. Vintage synths, magnets, an old train announcement speaker, blown-out gear, and an oven-baked cymbal all made it onto the record. The duo described the whole process as “exploring new ways of making tunes”. Turning the studio into a playground of warped sound and beautifully cooked-up club experiments. The result is 11 tracks of warped studio experiments and chest-rattling club pressure.
Lead single “Lockup” is built around a sample of Fast Relief’s “What A Waste”. It is loaded with pummelling drums, supercharged bass, zippy synth lines and laser-focused chords. It is the kind of track that makes the album’s August 7th arrival feel very far away.
Overmono celebrate their new release with their biggest London headline show yet at Old Royal Naval College on August 7th. Check out tour dates here.
‘Pure Devotion’ is out on August 7th via XL Recordings.
