Toronto’s Shawn William Clarke shares collage of finger-picked folk, Canadian rock, and lo-fi experimentation on new album, Softer Scissors
Toronto-based Métis artist Shawn William Clarke pens warm indie folk songs, marrying narrative songwriting with innovative arrangements. Shawn has toured most of Canada and Europe, including his favourite destination, Iceland, where he performed at the Melodica and Iceland Airwaves festivals. Following up his Spectral Acoustics album series (Vol. 1 & 2 released in 2020 and 2021, respectively), Clarke returns with a 12-track album entitled Softer Scissors.
Opening the album with the introspective and beautifully minimalist track “New Drug 1“, Softer Scissors unfolds into a collage of various sonic influences sewn together by Clarke’s image-rich storytelling and winding melodies. From the influence of Canadian rock icons Sloan and Hayden on “Everybody Gets Sad” and “Time Intervenes”, to finger-picked ‘60s folk-infused “All Is Lost, All Is Fine” and ”Tall Trees”, to experimental lo-fi sprinklings on “Franny Stares” and “New Drug p2”, and closing the album with the warm and expansive “My Key Light (Quiet Company)”, Clarke keeps his listeners on their toes and simultaneously wrapped in an atmosphere of gentleness and togetherness.
Clarke shares:
”Much of the album was written during the lockdown. What was in my mind at the time shows up here. Concerns about family and friends, an unsure future, the idea of leaving one’s home, the people (and pets) who kept you sane in troubled times. I’m also interested in what constitutes love, and how love can be perceived (My Key Light, Franny Stares, To Walter Sincerely, Time Intervenes). We’re all in this together, and it’s important to know there are people in your life who are sharing your concerns/ troubles. Everybody gets sad, sometimes!”
Softer Scissors was recorded at Currie’s Music in Gravenhurst, Ontario with Rob Currie, who recorded, mixed, and co-produced the record. Clarke brought together many talented Canadian musician friends to play on the album including Graydon James (Young Novelists), David Gluck, Mike T. Kerr, Claire Coupland, Sarah Hiltz, Laura Spink (Young Novelists), Katie McLeod, Kristian Noel Pedersen, and Brandon Munday.
Clarke shares some of the process behind the writing and recording process:
“Rob Currie has lots of great vintage gear, microphones, guitars etc. Influenced by 90’s recordings by Hayden, Beck, and Sloan, I began using and brought in the recording studio an 8-track Cassette Recorder, which we ended up running the drums through (the drums on this album sound AMAZING), and the track Franny Stares was recorded almost completely on that machine. There are also pieces of backwards recordings and experimental bits that I recorded at home, peppered into the album.
There are many recurring themes and ideas on Softer Scissors. As guitarist Mike T. Kerr so succinctly pointed out, the album is like a tape loop, where things may come back slightly altered from when you heard them last. I love the idea of coming back to an idea or a character on a song. “To Walter, Sincerely” and “Time Intervenes” work as a sort of Rashamon scenario where two characters revisit their past.”
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