Clark co-produced 'Actor' with John Congleton (Modest Mouse, Polyphonic Spree). The album features eleven new songs, all written and arranged by Clark. 'Actor' builds upon the ambitious compositional and sonic foundations of Clark's debut. The arrangements are more masterful, the songwriting grander, and the performances more confident and inspired. For 'Actor', Clark developed an idiosyncratic writing process. She immersed herself in some of her favorite films such as 'Badlands', 'Pierrot le Fou', 'The Wizard of Oz', 'Stardust Memories', and 'Sleeping Beauty'. Each song started as a secret film score, slowly gaining independence as its structure and lyrics came into focus. The resulting eleven tracks are as cinematic as pop songs can be. The album is like a private movie, revealing its storyline through hushed, cunning couplets and scathing guitar cascades. It's a record to listen to with your eyes closed, with melodies transposed and inverted. 'Actor' juxtaposes the fantasy of Disney with the sweep of Morricone, David Mamet's unsettling dramatic form, and the alienation of Philip Roth. Igor Stravinsky scores Roger Corman's horror flicks. 'The Strangers' starts as a dulcet elegy for a lost love before capsizing under a flood of distortion. 'Actor Out of Work' is a devastating sonic kiss-off with slyly poisonous lyrics and steamrolling guitars. The opening strings and woodwinds of 'Marrow' could be escorting Dorothy to the Emerald City or straight into the flying monkeys' clutches. The crackerjack band, including supporting turns by McKenzie Smith and Paul Alexander of Midlake, has the crunch of a tank and the grace of a chamber ensemble.
Related
Related
Related
Related