What Radiohead is to art rock, Livvy Clarke is to neo-soul; the dreamy zeal within the artfully composed complex time signatures in her latest single, Love Letter, allows the release to defy gravity as it transcends through installations of endlessly ascending cultivation, guided by her arcane vocal range.
With this single, the singer-songwriter who has been likened to her heroines, Angie Stone, India Arie and Tracy Chapman, proved that the most powerful love letter you can ever write is a love letter to yourself after overcoming adversity with enough gratitude and tenacity that you can celebrate still being here.
Love Letter is by no means an affecting exception. Livvy Clarke’s evocative repertoire cages swathes of singles which evoke emotion and bare her soul. By always using personal events as thematic underpinnings in her releases, authenticity and sincerity are always guaranteed.
Her sophomore single, Enough, covered the tragedy of saying goodbye to her mother; watching her daughter become disabled to the point of nearly saying another heart-wrenching goodbye convinced Livvy Clarke of the necessity of writing for catharsis.
Her latest single, co-written with renowned songwriter, arranger and producer, Julian Hinton, (Stormzy, Seal, Rod Stewart) captures Clarke in her free spirit era, unshackled by the weight of monumental grief and strife; it is a testament to the fortitude of the human spirit which lies within us all.
Love Letter will be available to stream on all major platforms from May 16th.
Find your preferred way to listen on Livvy Clarke’s official website.
Review by Amelia Vandergast