Brand new album from LOS LEO

Hailing from Adelaide, LOS LEO is the project of multi-talented songwriter and producer Tom Montesi, an artist who views pop music as both craft and canvas. Blending nostalgia with invention, his sound sits at the crossroads between heartfelt storytelling and forward-thinking pop sound. While his influences are classic, his vision lands in a space where emotion and artistic expression collide, a playground for sonic exploration and engaging musical output.

He describes himself as an “art pop romantic,” guided by emotional availability and an obsession with creating something real. “The amount of times I’ve been moved by an artist singing in a pub to ten people, that’s the feeling I want to recreate in my music,” he shares. It’s this steadfast devotion to emotional context that underpins everything he creates, making even the smallest moments feel monumental.

After signing with Universal Music Group in 2016 on the strength of his breakout single “Beautiful Mess,” LOS LEO quickly became one of Australia’s most exciting new musical exports. A prolific collaborator, he’s worked across more than fifty releases, performing alongside acts such as LANY, DMA’s and The Veronicas, while his songs have found their way onto major television shows including Grey’s Anatomy, Doctor Doctor and Teen Mom. But despite the commercial success, his latest chapter arrives like a deliberate act of creative recalibration, a return to curiosity, risk and independence.

That new direction comes to life on his latest record titled LL-1000, a project born from what he calls “a creative experiment in honesty, not perfection.” Conceived and completed within a single year, the album represents a snapshot of transformation, a meditation on change, identity and the shift of self. Instead of aiming for impactful singles, LOS LEO built LL-1000 as an immersive body of work, where every song bleeds into the next. “It doesn’t feel like a collection of singles to me. It’s more like an impressionist painting — songs written so close together that they bleed into each other,” he explains.

Following the bright synth notes of brief intro piece “Mnemonic,” the album comes into sharp focus with the punchy beats and airy instrumental tones of “I Can Change” as LOS LEO’s expressive vocal leads roll above to craft a minimal electronic pop sound cut with alternative R&B vibes. Flowing with dance-focused energy and capped by infectious melodic leads, it’s a superb jam that showcases his knack for bringing together memorable songwriting with a unique sonic structure.

“Franklin Ave” lands with the bounce of bold drums and echo of 80s pop aesthetic before dropping back to leave space for his storytelling lyricism to glide with alluring melodies. Leaning into a retro synth pop scene, it’s a charming outing that’s truly impossible not to love. “Magic Touch” slows things down with a dreamy soundscape of softly pulsing instrumental textures and emotive vocal performance to cast a hypnotic pop experience that gradually builds towards a dazzling key change finale where pattering percussion and impassioned vocals combine to form a delicate surge of energy.

Other highlights on the record include songs like the elegant vocal-driven ballad “I Saw Your Face” with its sparse arrangement of sweeping vocal layers wrapped in hazy processing, offering an enchanting listening experience from start to finish. On “I Miss You,” he serves up a breezy pop jam that frames a touching tribute to long-distance friendship captured with the gentle rattle of synth pips, muted drums and graceful vocals carrying catchy leads above.

Closing the release with “I’m on Fire,” soothing acoustic guitar chords set up LOS LEO’s tender vocals to craft a heartfelt folk pop finale that perfectly concludes his sensational new album. Ultimately, LL-1000 presents a living archive of one artist’s journey toward creative freedom. “This record isn’t designed to tell you how to feel. It’s supposed to give you space to question how you feel,” he offers and in doing so, LOS LEO reminds us that art, at its best, can open up an ongoing conversation.

Listen to LL-1000 below