Cloves - 'Care'
Australian singer-songwriter Cloves is alluringly melancholic on new single 'Care'.
'Care' is Cloves' second single since the release of her sophomore album 'Nightmare On Elmfield Road'. The song is impressionistic... blurry... nostalgic... and somewhat reminiscent of Lana Del Rey and Weyes Blood.
Cloves (real name Kaity Dunstan) was born in Melbourne, Australia and began playing and writing her own music from an early age. Snap forward to the present tense and she has hundreds of millions of streams under her belt; has performed on 'Late night with Seth Meyers' and supported artists such as Michael Kiwanuka. 'Care' is her second 2023 single after releasing 'Good Try' earlier this year.
Whilst 'Good Try' was a heartfelt ballad with a slow, epic climax, 'Care' has a more driving feel. We still have the signature Cloves airy and atmospheric vocals. We still have the nuanced arrangements. Here, in fact, the instrumentation takes a lush, reverberant step forward.
The song opens with a minimalistic arrangement. The vocals are underpinned by rich keys, guitars and drums. Strings are interspersed throughout and give the track an immediately timeless and classic feel. The groove is simple but really propels the verse forwards before bursting into a rich and expansive chorus. Here things open up as Cloves sings 'I thought you care / You know that nothing's ever coming for free', the main hook of the chorus.
Throughout, themes of dishonesty and lost relationships are explored, with 'Caught you on your way back home' being the ambivalent opening line - a line that also echoes through the final chorus along with a textural bed of backing vocals. The whole track is buzzing with ideas but still remains measured and subtle.
Cloves has said herself that, as she sets out on her own journey as an independent artist, now is the time she feels "most creatively free and mentally strong". After pulling off the clinging tendrils of a big record label, it's exciting to think where this mental and creative strength will take her.
Words by Joe Boon
