Back to Lustropolis For Odeal's Fall Confessions [Album Review]

This fall, Odeal takes us back into Lustropolis, a world he has been constructing since 2024, a soul-bearing landscape defined by chaotic love, cold seasons, and heartbreak  at an all-time high. With The Fall That Saved Us, we return to Malotov, Lustropolis, where  the warmth of summer euphoria has dissolved, mirrors once covered in smoke have  cleared, and reality begins to settle. If The Summer That Saved Me felt like a joyful  escape, playful and drenched in fleeting bliss, The Fall That Saved Us is the  homecoming: unforgiving, heavier, and far closer to the truth of Odeal’s everyday  encounters. 

Though the nine-track project (featuring Elijah Fox and Wizkid) is concise, its depth is  undeniable. The world-building is meticulous; Odeal continues to set himself apart by  crafting a universe distinctly his, yet the vulnerability he explores is universal, familiar  to anyone who has loved, lost, or lingered too long in between. 

The EP opens with a slow, stripped-back track, empty enough for his voice to  command the space. From there, the music flows like still water hiding restless currents  beneath the surface: smooth symphonies, shifting tempos, and arrangements that  gradually expand, introducing fuller production and subtle rhythmic changes as the  emotional stakes rise, guiding the listener toward a deliberate climax. From the very first  line. “There’s a reason I’m wide awake, my heart’s still with you”. Odeal begins in  reflection, revealing how tightly his past intimate affairs cling to him. Shared moments  loop in his mind; this isn’t someone he can easily forget. He may be moving forward, but  she remains lodged between a not-so-distant memory and a current craving. Whether she returns or not, he makes it clear that she still remains in his heart. 

Molotov, Lustropolis is a place where warmth is scarce and the people austere, shapes  the narrative. By the second track, ‘Molotov’, it’s clear Odeal is not simply a victim of  heartbreak but an active participant in the cycle that keeps him from falling fully in love.  His distrust, forged by past hurt, colours every new connection. He questions motives, doubts sincerity, and wrestles with whether genuine affection can arrive without illusive intent. With a voice weary and worn, he admits, “want to love, but I'm tired and exhausted,” a fatigue that permeates the EP’s soundscape.

This internal struggle between wanting true romance and wilfully accepting it exposes  the hopelessness Odeal faces. His unresolved wounds manifest as one foot in, one foot out. The tension between yearning for closeness and retreating the moment things  become real is embodied in ‘Cold World’ and ‘Blur’, tracks unveiling the outcomes of  blocked lines, blurred boundaries, miscommunication, and the suffocating sense of  being tethered to an admiration that wounds more than it heals. 

‘Wicked’ captures this experience with startling clarity. It reflects a familiar hurt: apologies that sound hollow, tears that feel manufactured. And yet, within the passion,  we find ourselves “still holding on.” Odeal isn’t telling a tale of perfect love but exploring the upset embedded in falling for someone deeply flawed. Beauty and pain intertwine, magnifying the paradoxes of love, a battle he forces himself to face by returning to Lustropolis. 

A central theme emerges when desire collides with the inability to fully commit. Odeal  admits he would “hate to deprive you of what you’re deserving,” yet confesses, “I know  you miss my touch, and I really want it.” This tension peaks in ‘Addicted’, where longing  and dreams of a shared future collide with the weight of visceral scars he has yet to  

confront. With this single, the upbeat afro-swing tempo rhythmically masks the fear of  commitment beneath the thrill of the chase. 

Paired with ‘Pretty Girls’, a smooth offering of early-2000s R&B influence, the EP flirts  with themes of infidelity and temptation, not as actions, but as possibilities always  lurking in a fragile relationship. In Lustropolis, beauty is plentiful, but sincerity is scarce.  Mirrored melodically in the layered background riffs that underscore the chorus, Odeal hints at how navigating that dynamic becomes another layer of his struggle, especially in a life where attention is abundant and insecurities run deep. 

‘Children of Yeshua’ and ‘Nights In The Sun’ provide the emotional resolution. Here, Odeal finds the peace he has been searching for since returning to Lustropolis. These  tracks evoke fresh starts, the dawn following a long, bleak night. This vibrance is  elevated through a bold feature from Wizkid, whose presence floats effortlessly over an afro-infused percussive instrumental that beautifully complements Odeal’s soulful  tone.

Odeal finds himself changed, falling unexpectedly into connection. “It’s different with  you,” he declares, and later rejoices, “I done found my person,” ready to adapt and make  it work. This woman expands his mind, guiding him from a summer spent saving himself  to a fall spent trying to preserve a connection worth fighting for. For her, “tables are  turning,” and he is prepared to set past transgressions aside. And just like the feel-good  summer sounds of The Summer That Saved Me, this EP ends by circling back to a  moment of delight and emotional renewal. 

Ultimately, The Fall That Saved Us continues the journey begun in The Summer That  Saved Me: moving from carefree pleasure to the complications of expectations,  emotional availability, and vulnerability. The EP does not just revisit Lustropolis, it  deepens it, guiding listeners through its hidden back alleyways and darker corners.  Odeal’s storytelling is sharper, the stakes higher, and the emotional terrain more  complex. Through these introspective tracks, he reveals a version of himself who is  learning, hurting, yearning, and growing. Where the previous EP captured adventure and  discovery, this one settles into contemplation, honesty, and the quiet battles fought  within the heart.