Swiss-born, Montreal-based dream pop artist (and Exclaim! New Faves alum) Alicia Clara has announced the details of her forthcoming EP and shared mesmeric lead single "Only Fools Wish for Love."
Velveteen arrives on October 28 via Hot Tramp. It follows Clara's 2021 debut Outsider/Unusual. The new project was inspired by the months the artist spent in isolation with her uncle in Trois-Rivières after years of big city lights, which forced her to look inward.
Of the elastic, lap steel-driven lead single, Clara shared in a release:
I bought myself a new guitar last fall and I was so excited when I got it in the mail. I improvised some chords and a picking pattern as soon as I opened it — that's how the chord progression for "Only Fools Wish for Love" was born. The full song and demo came together in about a day, which is some of my fastest work. By that point, I was about ready to start recording this upcoming EP, but I wasn't too convinced with one of the songs; I instantly knew "Only Fools Wish for Love" was going to replace it.
As I often do, I kind of improvised the lyrics for the first verse just to create a melody, and then I made it make sense with what I felt I was subconsciously touching upon. Ultimately the song is a reflection on my cynicism towards love these past few years, but also on how I shut myself off and how I subconsciously attract complicated situations my way because that's the only way I know how to "love." In truth, I only know how to be at the mercy of a situation that is unhealthy. I don't know how to and won't let myself appreciate something easygoing. In the end, I am the fool. The fool is me.
Listen to "Only Fools Wish for Love" below, where you'll also find the EP tracklist.
Velveteen:
1. I Let My Plant Die
2. Only Fools Wish for Love
3. In Ten Years
4. Velveteen
Velveteen arrives on October 28 via Hot Tramp. It follows Clara's 2021 debut Outsider/Unusual. The new project was inspired by the months the artist spent in isolation with her uncle in Trois-Rivières after years of big city lights, which forced her to look inward.
Of the elastic, lap steel-driven lead single, Clara shared in a release:
I bought myself a new guitar last fall and I was so excited when I got it in the mail. I improvised some chords and a picking pattern as soon as I opened it — that's how the chord progression for "Only Fools Wish for Love" was born. The full song and demo came together in about a day, which is some of my fastest work. By that point, I was about ready to start recording this upcoming EP, but I wasn't too convinced with one of the songs; I instantly knew "Only Fools Wish for Love" was going to replace it.
As I often do, I kind of improvised the lyrics for the first verse just to create a melody, and then I made it make sense with what I felt I was subconsciously touching upon. Ultimately the song is a reflection on my cynicism towards love these past few years, but also on how I shut myself off and how I subconsciously attract complicated situations my way because that's the only way I know how to "love." In truth, I only know how to be at the mercy of a situation that is unhealthy. I don't know how to and won't let myself appreciate something easygoing. In the end, I am the fool. The fool is me.
Listen to "Only Fools Wish for Love" below, where you'll also find the EP tracklist.
Velveteen:
1. I Let My Plant Die
2. Only Fools Wish for Love
3. In Ten Years
4. Velveteen
