Brandy Clark is an 11-time Grammy nominated artist, and I’d be willing to go out on a limb and say that this project could finally garner Clark her first (and well deserved) Grammy win.
Brandy Clark is the singer-songwriter’s new self-titled album, her fourth studio album and her first since her 2020 release of Your Life Is A Record. This self-titled collection of eleven songs was recorded in the historic Shangri-La Studio in Malibu, California and was produced by 9-time Grammy winner Brandi Carlile.
The eleven song track list is emotionally vulnerable and exhibits Clark’s ability to be personal and versatile in her song writing, as she has been for her entire musical career.
Clark reflected on the Brandy Clark by saying:
“This album is a return home to me in many ways. Musically it’s the rawest I’ve been since ’12 Stories’ and maybe even rawer.
When Brandi and I sat down and talked about working together, one thing that really intrigued me was her saying ‘I see it as your return to the northwest’ (since the two of us are both from Washington state). That comment inspired so much for me. It took me back to where and how I grew up.”
Carlile suggesting that Clark should mold the album from a mindset of being back home radically changed the way Clark approached the creation of the track list.
Clark goes on to add:
‘Northwest’ and ‘She Smoked In The House’ were both a result of that early conversation. Working with another recording artist on this project was such a gift that I didn’t even know I needed and changed the way I want to write songs and make records moving forward.
My hope is that anyone who hears this album will feel the heart that I put into every note of it.”
Each song is unique in its own way, and those who listen will undoubtedly recognize the importance and attention to detail of each note and each lyric.
Clark on her own is a wonderful musician and crafter of songs, so when her good friend Brandi Carlile joined the mix as a producer, the stars almost literally aligned and the result of the two decorated artists working together shines through on the album.
Brandi Carlile commended Clark’s giftedness and spoke on how she felt listening to the new record:
“Brandy is one of the greatest songwriters I’ve ever known. And I feel like I now know exactly who Brandy Clark is through the portal of this singular brilliantly written album. When I heard the songs for this album, they took me back to the first time I heard Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.
I was thinking about Tom Petty, The Pretenders, Kim Richey, Sheryl Crow, Shelby Lynne and the soul of 90’s Americana before it had a name. Brandy’s voice is like a friend you’ve had your whole life the second you hear it. I know I’m not alone in feeling this way.”
The always poetic Carlile nailed the description of Clark’s work, and goes on to say that she too agrees that this self-titled album might be the best of Clark’s already impressive musical career:
“This is her moment. This is the one. Sometimes an artist only gets one shot at an album like this in their life.
This is the time Brandy has chosen to reveal herself to the world as an artist and a woman and I was blessed beyond measure to be the person she trusted to support and facilitate that swan dive.”
Th first single from the emotional album, “Buried,” sets the tone for the rest of the album and shows just how good Brandy Clark and Brandi Carlile can be when they put their multi-talented forces together.
Take a listen:
The rest of the track list is just as good as “Buried,” which sets the bar pretty high for Clark’s artful, emotion-filled self-titled album.
