The James Clark Institute — the power pop project of Toronto's James Clark — have released their new album, Under the Lampshade.
Now available on streaming services and gatefold vinyl, the 10-track album follows 2021's The Colour of Happy. "The record largely has the same amount of happy, hooky melodies disguising bittersweet and impassioned lyrics," bandleader Clark said in a release. "But there is also a progression in the JCI sound as we used a string quartet on two songs."
As with the last album, Under the Lampshade was produced by Moe Berg (Trans-Canada Highwaymen, the Pursuit of Happiness), who referred to the record as a collection of "catchy and lyrically challenging tunes."
"Under the Lampshade has James growing stylistically while still keeping to the core values of intelligent pop craftsmanship that we have all come to associate with him," Berg added. "May I be so bold as to say this is his finest batch of songs yet?"
Clark seems to be gunning for timelessness with his organic instrumentation, soaring melodies and clean yet distinctly unvarnished production. Hell, there's even a song with "Whatever O'Clock" in the title — and that's exactly the right time to listen to Under the Lampshade, which you can do below.
Now available on streaming services and gatefold vinyl, the 10-track album follows 2021's The Colour of Happy. "The record largely has the same amount of happy, hooky melodies disguising bittersweet and impassioned lyrics," bandleader Clark said in a release. "But there is also a progression in the JCI sound as we used a string quartet on two songs."
As with the last album, Under the Lampshade was produced by Moe Berg (Trans-Canada Highwaymen, the Pursuit of Happiness), who referred to the record as a collection of "catchy and lyrically challenging tunes."
"Under the Lampshade has James growing stylistically while still keeping to the core values of intelligent pop craftsmanship that we have all come to associate with him," Berg added. "May I be so bold as to say this is his finest batch of songs yet?"
Clark seems to be gunning for timelessness with his organic instrumentation, soaring melodies and clean yet distinctly unvarnished production. Hell, there's even a song with "Whatever O'Clock" in the title — and that's exactly the right time to listen to Under the Lampshade, which you can do below.