Clare Siobhan shines with a sudden light on “Flare”
Originally from Truro, Nova Scotia, now based in Montreal, QC, Clare Siobhan has unveiled her single, “Flare.”
“‘Flare’ is a song about change – about struggling with it, weathering it, and finally moving through it with grace,” said Clare Siobhan (she/her). “I wrote this song while driving back home after receiving some unexpected and scary news; I was thinking about the unpredictability of change, and I was worrying about my ability to cope with it.”
“Catastrophe takes ahold of me / Simplicity is lost / Easy’s never easy for me / Relief’s not worth the cost,” laments Siobhan, before turning the corner in the song’s waning moments: “Change won’t weigh me down.”
“A few weeks later I finally wrote that last, lighter part of the song. I was looking desperately for change around me, for signs that huge events could still happen and the outcome could still be joyful. I was looking out my window at the tree in my backyard and thought about the changing of the seasons. Like clockwork, leaves sprout on barren branches, birds return, and life goes on. There’s an inevitability to change and such stability in its repetition, which I find comforting.”
“Flare” hails from Siobhan’s debut EP, Seek The Sun. Produced and mixed by Erin Costelo and featuring performances by Costelo, Christine Bougie, Jordi Comstock, Andrew Jackson, Cassie Mann, and Nick Maclean, Seek The Sun was recorded by Thomas Stajcer and Alex Burris at Dartmouth’s Fang Recording and mastered by Kristian Montano at Montano Mastering in Toronto.
“The carefully chosen tracklist holds themes of love, change, fear, joy, hope, and good old-fashioned bad habits,” said Siobhan. “I poured so many experiences into this first record – feeling hopeless and hopeful, loving and losing, grappling with new change, feeling outcast, and the continual mid-twenties struggle to find my place in the world. Through it all, I’ve tried to maintain a sense of resilience and persistent, stubborn joy – I’m adamant that no matter how hard things get, there’s always a way out of the darkness. There’s a glimmer of sunlight in every painful day, and joy is always alive and well, and waiting for you whenever you’re ready to go and find it.”
Review
From the opening of “Flare” the captivating music caught my attention, with a somewhat twangy tone, while keeping a pop beat. As Clare’s distinctive vocals join the mix, her voice effortlessly captures the emotional nuances of the lyrics, conveying
The chorus, “Catastrophe takes ahold of me, Simplicity is lost, Easy’s never easy for me, Relief’s not worth the cost,” resonates with a powerful message, expressing the overpowering grip of catastrophe and the absence of simplicity. Clare’s emotive vocals amplify the emotional weight of these sentiments.
Overall, “Flare” combines introspective lyrics with an inviting melody. The thought-provoking track captures the complexities of navigating through life’s challenges and the transformative power of embracing change, which we can surely all relate to.