Ahead of Friday's album release, Josienne Clarke shares 'Double Edged Sword' via Corduroy Punk
Josienne Clarke shares new single
‘Double Edged Sword’
New album Parenthesis, I due out May 10th via
Corduroy Punk
Praise for Parenthesis, I
“Parenthesis, I plays like a balm” Uncut
“One of the most incisive, unsettling, revealing and absorbing of all British singer songwriters” The Arts Desk
"Softly powerful in its under-stated grandeur." CLASH Magazine
"Though “Double-Edged Sword” doesn’t stray far from Clarke’s folk roots, it also thrums with an understated power." Under The Radar
**** - Shindig!
Josienne Clarke today has shared her latest single 'Double-Edged Sword,' the final track previewing her forthcoming album, Parenthesis, I, due out this Friday, May 10th. The spirited, glistening track premiered today via Under The Radar and is out now alongside a Alec Bowman_Clarke directed-video.
'Double-Edged Sword' highlights one of the album's many moments of self-empowerment and resoluteness. "Sometimes your continued existence is enough, the bold move, an act of resistance. The more time I work in the music industry the more I believe success within it is a matter of endurance and resilience. Just to still be here, to create year on year whatever the external circumstances and isn’t the same true of life in general,” Clarke explains. “I was going for the sound of The Stone Roses ‘Waterfall’ meets Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero,’ played by a folky singer-songwriter!"
“Double-Edged Sword” follows album singles “Most Of All” and “Fear of Falling,” which have earned praise and support from Clash Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, Our Culture, If It’s Too Loud, and more. Parenthesis, I is available for pre-order HERE.
Throughout her career, Josienne Clarke has been both a Rough Trade-signed artist and a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winner, two opposing poles that neatly sum up her inability to be pigeonholed. After the success of her 2019 solo record, In All Weather, and the indie-infused A Small Unknowable Thing in 2021, she released the EP I Promised You Light and the covers EEP Now & Then in 2022. In 2023 she released Onliness (songs of solitude and singularity) – a moment of personal reclamation, which saw her re-recording songs from her back catalogue. Now, she stands on the cusp of a new era with Parenthesis, I.
Written, arranged, and produced by Clarke, her fourth solo album finds her transformed by the slow, arduous process of growth and redefined in the present. The album masterfully showcases Clarke's personal and musical evolution: shimmering, warm, intimate, and profoundly heart-wrenching.
She draws influence from folk greats Nick Drake and Sandy Denny, as well as more contemporary artists like Julia Jacklin, Courtney Marie Andrews, Anaïs Mitchell, and Lucy Dacus."It encompasses all of my musical influences. You can hear flavours and textures from all the records I’ve put out in the last five years,” says Clarke, who also plays guitar, saxophone, clarinet and recorders throughout Parenthesis, I. “After an interval I am presenting myself to the world, reworked, and remade anew.”
As Clarke aptly states, "The songs and their themes are immensely personal to me, but more importantly, these themes may be relatable to others." Documenting a winding road characterised by complexity and nuanced feelings, Parenthesis, I is a statement of confidence–one that recognises how upheaval, growth, and joy can allow for self-assurance and perseverance.
Tracklist
1. Friendly Teeth
2. Spherical
4. Do You Know Now
5. Looking Glass
6. Forbearing
7. Most Of All
9. Firecracker
10. Dead Woman's Bones
11. The Calm
12. Parenthesis, I
13. Magic Somehow
Josienne Clarke Tour Dates:
11/05 - Glasgow, UK - Glad Cafe
Josienne Clarke Online:
