Clementine Lovell - Permutations

When Clementine Lovell released her debut album Westbound last year, it felt like the arrival of a new, influential voice on the folk scene. Her second album Permutations provides a different sound and a surprising shift to the unpredictable, ever-changing waters of human transformation.

For the most part of this release, her renowned, shimmering soprano voice is anchored to the combination of her accordion drones and Gergely Nagy’s electronic compound. The result is a musical adventure that balances her sharp songwriting and her individual interpretation of traditional material, all delivered on atmospheric, often obscure soundscapes.

This approach is nowhere evident as in The Dreadful Ghost, a tragic tale transformed into a claustrophobic, psychological drama by the deliberate dark synth backing. The emotional pinnacle of the album is however the self-penned Death of an Ordinary Star, a reflection on mortality and the passage of time that showcases her exceptional vocal extension and her inherited love for astronomy.

The release comes to a grand finale with Lovell’s heartfelt rendition of Dougie MacLean’s 1982 song Ready for the Storm, a piece of poetry on solitude, resilience, acceptance, and the power of human connections; a fitting close for an album exploring different shades of our life experience.

Highly descriptive, oscillating between light and gloom, Permutations is an introspective journey that confirms Lovell’s well-earned reputation of one of the most interesting names on the folk scene.