Artist: Alex Clare
Album: “Tail of Lions”
Label: ETC Recordings
Format Reviewed: Vinyl
Lyrics of Note:
I am contemplating, just stating
No procrastinating, time wasting
Doing what I need, revealing the lies
Smashing the darkness and bringing the fire
Prestige Worldwide once shot a video on a boat, but even those trailblazing step brothers can’t stake claim to recording on a boat. British singer/songwriter Alex Clare did just that with his third album “Tail of Lions,” which is a fitting process for a selection of songs that feels, at times, as if they’re riding out a particularly rough patch of sea. Heavy in theme and washed in emotion, Clare tackles complicated subject matter, from mental illness (“Basic”) to the vanishing middle class (“Surviving Ain’t Living”), and does so in a thought-provoking way that enables the listener to ride the ups and downs of the rolling waves with him.
Many times people will say an artist has “matured” when their art takes a serious turn, but the truth is, if art really does imitate life, then maturing is the only way to stay honest. After all, the more we travel this winding and confusing path, the more complicated things get. “Tail of Lions” simply shines a light on a handful of those complications and does so in a way that proves Clare is a songwriter unafraid to show his own vulnerability.
