Josienne Clarke And Ben Walker Seedlings All (bonus Tracks)

Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker should have been on cloud nine after the release of their exquisite 2016 album Overnight. It was the pair’s first for Rough Trade after self-releasing their previous albums and the reviews were nothing short of glowing. And yet things didn’t pan out quite how they’d hoped. Overnight sold only modestly and, wondering if they might not get a second chance with Rough Trade, Clarke and Walker were pitched into a period of soul-searching. Were all the sacrifices and disappointments and emotional turmoil really worth it in order to pursue their dream?

In All Weather is a new collection of songs, in which Josienne Clarke goes it alone; musically, as this is her first solo record, and in her own life, laid bare and played out in the leave-it-all-behind-and-start-anew nature of the lyrics. The songs were written in on the Isle of Bute in 2018, where Josienne relocated for a year, overlooked by a snowy Ben Nevis.

On Parenthesis, I, Josienne Clarke has not only embraced her past but has also redefined herself in the present, presenting a body of work that is shimmering, warm, intimate, and at times, profoundly heart-wrenching. Throughout her career, Clarke has been both a Rough Trade-signed artist and a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winner, two opposing poles that neatly sum up her inability to be pigeonholed. Parenthesis, I is a masterful journey through her personal and musical evolution, drawing influence from folk greats Nick Drake and Sandy Denny, as well as more contemporary artists like Julia Jacklin, Courtney Marie Andrews, Anaïs Mitchell and Lucy Dacus.