Just the other day I was talking to another music lover about new artist Betsy, a singer I’ve featured a couple of times (here and here). “She sounds a bit like Clare Maguire,” my friend said. “Whatever happened to her?” Now, I'm sure you'll all agree that it's somewhat of a compliment to an artist when others are compared with them, so that's one for Clare.
Maybe her ears were ringing too, because just a few days on from that conversation and she answering the whatever happened to question with not only a new song but news of a second album. Stranger Things Have Happened will be released on the 27th May.
If Elizabeth Taylor, the new track is anything to go by, the album is going to be a beauty. There’s a whole lot of Hometown Glory styled piano on the track, some gorgeous string sounds and (of course) Clare’s voice which goes in the flick of a switch from a docile restraint to punching the stars out of the sky.
The press blurb that arrived in my in box informs me that “Clare wrote the majority of this album at home on her piano, with her sausage dogs, on a diet of pizza and cups of tea.” Now that’s impressive – collaboration in pop music and in fact any creative art is not unusual, but I’ve never heard of sausage dogs taking such an active role. What’s not clear is if they just helped with the writing or they played on any of the instruments.
Clare plays a couple of shows in the UK on June 2nd at the Glee Club in Birmingham and the 6th at St Pancras Old Church in London. Clear your diaries for those.
Good to see she’s got a Pulp poster on her bedroom wall there as well. I’m giving her extra bonus points for that.
Clare Maguire - Elizabeth Taylor
1 comment:
Heard one of Betsy's song last week and actually thought it was Clare at first.
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