Student Showcase: Novelty Island

Novelty Island is the surreal-pop project of Liverpool-based songwriter/producer, Tom McConnell (Music/Popular Music BA). In 2018 he made the ultimate pilgrimage from his native north to study at Abbey Road Institute where Novelty Island was born. Inspired by classic pop, woozy electronica and northern wordplay, Novelty Island debuted their primary-colour psychedelia on London’s live-scene in 2020 with the ‘Welcome To Novelty Island…’ and ‘Suddenly On Sea’ EPs.

McConnell then returned to Liverpool where he began work on his one-man band debut album, How Are You Coping With This Century? along with dreamy videos, sculptures, and a never-ending Instagram. The 12-track ‘surreal northern nervous breakdown’ was released in 2021 on Think Like A Key to five-star reviews (Shindig / RnR) with support from BBC 6 Music, Amazing Radio and more. Novelty Island’s new live incarnation emerged from lockdown to launch the debut album in late 2021. In less than a year they’ve supported Sea Power and The Pale White, completed a headline UK run and been invited to perform at Glastonbury Festival.

The second Novelty Island album, Wallsend Weekend Television was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, Damon Albarn's Studio 13.