Tommy Lefroy: Five Essential Albums

Women's history is world history, but care is taken in March to elevate the message and mission of Women's History Month. We've asked some of the "Women We Love" to write about their "Five Essential Albums" for FUV.

Tommy Lefroy released their second EP, Rivals, earlier this month — during a whirlwind of shows for the Canadian-American duo of Wynter Bethel and Tessa Mouzourakis. The pair recently wrapped a winter North American tour with Samia; in addition, they sold out their headlining UK and Ireland gigs, and headed down to Austin for the Texas tornado better known as SXSW. Tommy Lefroy were also nominated for a prestigious Juno Award this year as best breakthrough band.

Although Wynter hails from northern Michigan and Tessa from Vancouver, the friends split time between London and Los Angeles these days. Christening themselves Tommy Lefroy after the Irish politician and judge who allegedly won—and then broke—Jane Austen's heart, both Bethel and Mouzourakis have a decidedly literary angle to their songwriting.

"Worst Case Kid," their most recent single, nimbly drops a reference to Dylan Thomas’s “Altarwise by Owl-Light” and Virgil's The Aeneid flickers through "Slick," another track on Rivals. But in addition to their adroit, smart lyrics on "Dog Eat Dog" or "Vampires," the latter from their debut EP, 2021's Flight Risk, it's the harmonious marriage of their voices—confident, mellifluous, muscular—that's won them an ardent fan base and over two million monthly listeners on Spotify.

FUV caught up with Wynter and Tessa ahead of their swing through SXSW and asked the friends to write about their "Five Essential Albums."

Tommy Lefroy: Five Essential Albums

Big Thief, Masterpiece
We love Big Thief. This album especially feels very nostalgic and poignant for us, it arrived at a time when we needed it most. Every song is so expertly crafted, from the push and pull of the guitars to the lyricism and Adrianne [Lenker]’s vocal delivery. They play so well as a band. They’re so locked in it’s almost spooky.

Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Tessa’s pick: I grew up on the Pacific Northwest, and spent so much of my teens wandering around listening to Bon Iver. He’s such an expert at crafting lush, cinematic soundscapes. The guitar tones on this record are so nice, and the snares in "Perth" are everything.

Radiohead, The Bends
There’s something really raw about this record. It feels very charged. We were listening to The Bends a lot just before we started working on our second EP, and reading about their process of creating it. It was their first record after the first hit, and laden with tension, you can feel how they turned that pressure into something explosive.

The National, High Violet
Wynter’s pick: One of my all-time favorites. It’s tough to choose between High Violet and Trouble Will Find Me, but I think High Violet is the one I’ve lived inside of the most. This record has soundtracked my life more than anything else.

Kate Bush, Hounds of Love
Kate Bush is so compelling. There is just something so raw and otherworldly about her artistry. Hounds of Love is a standout record. The use of archival sounds, the soaring vocals, the storytelling and literary illusions, the visuals. We went to see a Kate Bush cover band in L.A. around when we started writing for Tommy in 2019 so, in some ways, she’s become a part of our story too.

- Tommy Lefroy's Wynter Bethel and Tessa Mouzourakis
March 2023