Clara Tracey makes a bold entrance with her debut album ‘Black Forest’
The Irish-born artist makes her entrance onto the music scene through a record that draws inspiration from aspects of her world, to create an unexpected yet exceptional sound.
Photo: Katie Freeney
Singer-songwriter Clara Tracey was headed towards an opposite lifestyle before starting her career as a musician, originally studying and working as a lawyer. It wasn’t until moving to France that she discovered her true passion and began performing in jazz cafes. Following multiple singles released over the past year, Tracey has finally released her first full body of work, showcasing her experimental and original sound. Black Forest is a genre-bending album, mixing a jazzy sound with French pop undertones, bringing “a libertarian, feminist and theatrical slant” (The Irish Times), to her sound.
Although it wasn’t always her plan, Tracey fell in love with music, more specifically the piano, at a young age. Her talent and experience with the instrument is presented through the album’s opener Russian Gymnast I, a haunting instrumental piece that perfectly sets up Black Forest for the dramatic, theatrical record that it is. The track is enlaced with dark and whimsical elements and traces of nostalgia yet anticipation, setting the scene for the artsy, complex record ahead.
Following perfectly from the eerie introduction comes the album’s first single Soap Girls, a buoyant representation of Tracey’s love for the Parisian style, with a portion of it sung in French. Soap Girls has an obscure yet satisfying sound, heavily characterised by the prominent use of the organ and rippling percussion. The album’s abstract tones carry through to the next track, another single titled Jane Birkin (named after the 60s French-English icon of sound and cinema). The track excels in showcasing Tracey’s dreamy vocals, creating a whirlwind of indie-pop, contrasting yet nestling next to what we have previously heard and what is yet to come.
One of Black Forest’s highest points comes from the fourth track, Strange Flowers; a montage of sounds playing out in what feels like a dreamlike sequence. Beginning with a quixotic, euphoric blend of synths, the track does one of the best things a song can do… it builds. Midway through the song, we hear an instrumental interlude-like portion, showcasing Tracey’s signature piano sound heard similarly in Russian Gymnast I. The track then builds to a hectic, electric version of what we heard at the beginning of the track, proving Tracey’s ability to tell a story through sound.
The record’s title track winds us down from the previous with a charming and flirtatious sound, consisting of simple yet captivating production and mysterious vocals. Black Forest portrays the smoother side of the album, sounding as though it could come straight out of a dark jazz bar. It is followed by another high point, seen in the free-flowing sound of Harry Clarke, which has an almost cinematic feel. The track is named after a stained glass artist and illustrator, originating from Ireland just as Tracey does. The tune’s charm comes from its abstract lyricism and instrumental shifts from smooth, fairytale-like tones to upbeat and catchy melodies embedded with hints of 90s stylistic notes. Overall, Harry Clarke perfectly sums up Black Forest’s everchanging and unexpected nature.
Little Bird acts as a sentimental midpoint of the record, holding simple yet beautiful lyricism accompanied perfectly by the melancholy production. Similar to previous tracks, it holds a cinematic value, sounding as though it could come straight out of film; holding the emotional aspects cinema music needs to make an impact. It is followed by the more frenzied instrumental track, Midnight At The Moulin, which depicts an artsy folk sound, lifting listeners rapidly back up from the previous track, surprising them with unexpected high-pitched whirls as the track kicks off.
Her most recent single Baby Witch follows a folky and lighthearted sound which she states, “is about trying to just let yourself love someone even when it feels like your hands or mind might be tied.” The song once again incorporates Tracey’s dreamlike sound with the rawer aspects of the acoustic guitar. It’s safe to say that Baby Witch is a standout track on the record and a standout track in showing off her gorgeous, melodic vocals.
The second to last and longest off the album, Scorpio, begins to wrap up the album by creating a tense and accelerating tone, highlighted by the staccato playing strings and the glimmering harp-like sounds played throughout its entirety.
Black Forest concludes with Russian Gymnast II, a heavier continuation from its predecessor, playing the same haunting melody with a more synthesised sound, contrasting the simpler piano heard in the first variation. The album ends as well as it began, only this time showing a more complex side to what we heard earlier, a side we can now understand and appreciate based on the album’s enriching containments. Black Forest is a rich and unique draw on Clara Tracey’s life, experiences and ideas, making for a faultless debut that stands alone as an individual and personal sound from the magnificent songwriter — sure to impress and surprise many.