“The Tara Clerkin Trio makes, quite simply, without exception, the music I wish to hear” – so writes Ryan Davis in his liner notes for the upcoming album Somewhere Good (out 5 June on World of Echo).
The trio formed in Bristol in 2020. None of them are from the city, but all three are deeply embedded in its music scene. Tara Clerkin, her partner Sunny Joe Paradisos and his brother Patrick Benjamin have released two mini-albums since their 2020 debut: In Spring (2021) and On The Turning Ground (2023). Somewhere Good is their most fully realised work yet.
The sound is curiously elusive: harmonium, double bass, oddly voiced winds and treated vocals place the music somewhere between avant-pop, modern chamber composition and kraut-folk. Boomkat heard Stereolab, Portishead and A.R. Kane’s dreamy loops wrapped in chamber jazz and baroque detail. APLR heard dub inflections and folksy intimacy. Tara’s melodies are the glue – a calming consistency inside an otherwise unpredictable, intuitive sound that slowly unfolds.
LINEUP
Tara Clerkin – vocals, clarinet
Patrick Benjamin – synths
Sunny Joe Paradisos – drums, percussion
