Tennyson’s talent has always been undeniable, even if he’s still discovering it. Born Luke Pretty, his creativity blossomed in his parents’ basement. His younger sister Tess is his drumming partner, and the two siblings cut their teeth in local jazz clubs. As a teenager, Luke got his hands on some production software, blending complex beats with honeyed melodies. The EP Telescope, released in 2019, showcased a growing understanding of pop structure without forsaking Luke’s roots. Soon after, his world fell apart. “There was mold in my basement, all under the floor,” he says. “My ears were ringing like never before. Everything was twice as loud as it should have been. I thought my life was ruined.” Immersed in existential dread in the midst of a global pandemic, Luke wrote songs to keep himself busy. He thought he was making “garbage,” but when he listened back months later, the melodies brought him to tears. “It sounded like what I went through,” he says. Rot is the musical diary of a mind gone awry, the sound of a young artist on the brink of his own disaster. Ironically, it’s also when Tennyson’s voice truly lands. Rot has Tennyson’s charm, but the beats are a little simpler and the hooks a little more forceful. It’s a change Luke had to make to accommodate his ringing ears, but it taps into a new strength.
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