In an age when many artists are releasing albums chock-full of cover tunes, folkster Cat Clyde has opted, with her latest outing Good Bones, to cover… herself. It's a back to basics approach with Clyde sticking with her tried-and-true acoustic formula. A tip of the cap to her early days when it was just her and her guitar, Good Bones is a reimagining of many of Clyde's songs from previous releases — it's barebones, earthy, organic and intriguing all-around.
Kicking off with the grungy chord progression of "Mama Said", Clyde, from the outset, is in her element. There's no guitar solos, but instead a wealth of vocal improvisations, scoops and scats. Clyde's voice is nuanced and melodically interesting throughout. The acoustic format also finds her less married to a click track, which enables her to make strong use of dynamics and experiment with tempo changes for emotional effect.
At the end of the day, is the stripped-down style of Good Bones a one-off to keep Clyde busy during lockdown, or is it a retraction of the electric, bigger budget and full-band nature of previous outings, like Hunter's Trance? At the bare minimum, Good Bones is low-hanging fruit for her hardcore fans, while casual passersby will find the eccentricities of the vocal acrobatics well worth the listen.
(Independent)Kicking off with the grungy chord progression of "Mama Said", Clyde, from the outset, is in her element. There's no guitar solos, but instead a wealth of vocal improvisations, scoops and scats. Clyde's voice is nuanced and melodically interesting throughout. The acoustic format also finds her less married to a click track, which enables her to make strong use of dynamics and experiment with tempo changes for emotional effect.
At the end of the day, is the stripped-down style of Good Bones a one-off to keep Clyde busy during lockdown, or is it a retraction of the electric, bigger budget and full-band nature of previous outings, like Hunter's Trance? At the bare minimum, Good Bones is low-hanging fruit for her hardcore fans, while casual passersby will find the eccentricities of the vocal acrobatics well worth the listen.