cassette
What we said back when...
What a gem this is. Tara Clerkin Trio are an impossibly fresh-faced outfit operating out of Bristol, who I believe are in someway connected with the Howling Owl universe that involves Scalping, Giant Swan etc. Far less abrasive than that mob, TCT trade in gentle hearted experimentalism, shuffling almost-jazz drums, creaking keys, the odd melodica, and electronic abstractions structured around Clerkin's hypnotic vocal. It's woozy and disorientating in its oddness, but there's also a kind of wonky pop sensibility at its heart, a little like Julia Holter's Loud City Song or R. Elizabeth. 'In The Room' is so unhurried and effortless, you could easily convince me it was the work of a much more storied band, while the closing one-two of 'Any of Those'/'There Will Be Time' made me think of 'O Superman', for which there can be no higher praise. But more than anything, this is distinctly modern, the kind of music you'd imagine young people to be making in 2020 if the future had turned out the way it was meant to be. Generous and welcoming, but explorative too. There's not many things you can make that claim of right now and this feels like a special discovery. Mid-January and already a contender for album of the year...
