Cinematic, alternative-pop duo Apollo LTD releases its sophomore LP Nothing is Ordinary, Everything is Beautiful from Residence/Centricity Music. Available now at all major digital and streaming outlets internationally, the album blurs the horizon between organic and electronic music. At its heart, the recording is an uplifting pop album about resilience and resolve punctuated by messages about the human race’s challenges amidst a mix of hooks that target the head as well as the heart.
Packing a punch with EDM drops, pulsing drumbeats and singalong choruses meant for clubs, cathedrals and coliseums, Nothing is Ordinary, Everything is Beautiful features the top 20 hit and American Songwriter-premiered video “You” along with “Good Day,” “Rulers,” “Now!” and “Better.” It also highlights Apollo LTD’s highest charting Hot AC / CHR Billboard hit so far, “Patient,” an encouragement for when things do not always turn out as planned. The song moves into the Top 10 at No. 9 this week and continuing to climb. (See Instagram for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of “Patient.”)
With an even wider arc of diversity, Nothing is Ordinary, Everything is Beautiful builds upon the bold, climactic sound of its 2019 Dove Award-nominated Out of Body debut that sparked Apollo LTD’s first Top 40 hits “Gold” and “On The Way Up.” Reframing everyday obstacles like doubt and depression as reasons to come together rather than pull apart, much of the duo’s highly anticipated second album was created during months in isolation due to the pandemic. While the rest of the world slowed down to a cautious crawl, bandmates Jordan Phillips and Adam Stark remained busy, collaborating on new songs via Zoom calls and fine-tuning musical ideas in their own home studios.
“We were supposed to spend 2020 on the road,” says Adam. “Instead, I was able to stay at home, watch my one-year-old son hit a number of developmental milestones, and use modern technology to write songs with Jordan without always being in the same room. We were able to honor the sound that’s gotten us here — the marriage of organic instruments and pop synthesizers — while evolving our approach.”
During a year like 2020, the duo shares themes in the new album of finding silver linings in the most troublesome of situations.
“That’s a narrative we always weave into our music, which is the desire to believe that things are going to get better,” says Phillips. “This past year created a lot of anxiety in all of us, but with these songs, we’re choosing joy in the midst of chaos. Things can still be beautiful, even if they aren’t ordinary. The thread is hope.”
Next month, Apollo LTD will be sharing this hope in-person for the first time since the pandemic began, performing its new music and fan favorites in arenas and convention centers on the Winter Jam Weekend 21 tour. The four-city, limited capacity tour begins March 18 in Augusta, GA at James Brown Arena and travels to Tampa, FL (3/19), Woodstock, GA (3/20) and Gatlinburg, TN (3/21).
While on tour, Apollo LTD shares an explosive energy live on stage featuring Phillips’ elastic vocal instrument equipped with a strong falsetto and Stark’s playing that has been honed as a session instrumentalist and years of touring as a lead guitarist. In addition to their own headline events, the duo has shared stages with Panic at the Disco, DNCE, All-American Rejects, Kesha, Amanda Lindsay Cook and more.
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