Josienne Clarke has revealed plans for a new album: it’s called A Small Unknowable Thing and comes out on August 13. The album reflects on a period of frustration and upheaval for the songwriter, as she decided to split her musical partnership, ditch her label, and move to a Glasgow suburb with her husband. She says:
“It’s an empowered narrative, not a weak and vulnerable one. It was a conscious decision to walk away from my career as it was and there’s a positive message on this record: there’s a lot of reclaiming the narrative.”
The first fruit to be shared from this is the lead single and video “Sit Out”, which finds Clarke forthrightly standing her ground and claiming her space. Adding fire to her steadfastness are roiling guitars, thunderous percussion and even some wailing brass, all expertly wrangled by Clarke into a many-headed beast that rears up behind her powerful words and voice; “all you stand for makes me want to sit out,” she sings, which looks benign on paper, but is charged with pure confidence and self-possession in the song. Overall, “Sit Out” is the aural evocation of the new mindset that Clarke is now in, and the indomitable power she wields in that space.
The video for “Sit Out” adds a dash of humour to Clarke’s dim view of the industry. She says:
“I had a joke idea of a video early on, for me to hold fake auditions for a guitarist, each applicant being more of a ridiculous cliche than the previous. With me being the last, auditioning myself and then giving myself the job. It’s a bit over the top and silly but the sentiment is a solid one, that I decide to back my own guitar playing, not cos it’s the most accomplished but because it’s good enough and it suits me best! “
Watch the video below or listen to “Sit Out” on streaming platforms.
Josienne Clarke’s new album A Small Unknowable Thing comes out on August 13 (pre-save). You can find her on Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
