Clementine Lovell hit the ground running with début album Westbound in 2025 winning a number of awards on the way. For the second album, Permutations, Clementine has taken a different route, collaborating with mutli-instrumentalist Gergely Nagy who plays guitar, bass, synth and percussion. Clementine provides vocals, piano, accordion, and accordion created effects. As with Westbound, production and strings are provided by Marion Fleetwood.
The seven tracks are a mixture of self-written songs in ‘The Selkie’ and ‘The Death Of An Ordinary Star’ and traditional folk ballads ‘True Thomas’, ‘Black Jack Davy’, ‘The Dreadful Ghost’ and ‘The Elfin Knight’ with a version of Dougie MacLean’s ‘Ready For The Storm’ to round it off. Do not, however, think this is going to a a traditional folk album in that sense.
‘The Dreadful Ghost’ is exactly that, a young woman who takes her life after being left in shame by a sailor but wants to be left as a warning to others rather than buried. Even folk can’t make this a cheerful tune and it has a very simple, ominous backing with Clementine’s rich voice adding warning to the words.
‘Black Jack Davy’ is a version of ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsies’ and all the better for not being the version everybody knows. It makes the song fresh. This arrangement also takes a lusher approach than most, mainly piano with both drums and strings, to turn it into a rather beautiful ballad that could be a film score. ‘The Elfin Knight’ is a version of ‘Scarborough Fair’, except it’s the fair maid who has to win her true love by carrying out a number of possible tasks. It must be love because she doesn’t appear to object. Clementine’s voice, over a sparser backing, really shines out.
Of the self-written tracks ‘Selkie’, with piano and strings, could come from an opera. This is the story of a female selkie held upon the land. Although she becomes a wife and a mother to children she loves it’s not enough. We can see the theme developing here of love or money not always being the answer. People are also individuals with their own lives lives and there are choices to be made.
‘The Death Of An Ordinary Star’ is, for me, the standout track on the album. I wonder if the inspiration this song comes from Clementine’s family background. The name Lovell may be familiar. Again, the quality of the singing shines through in a thoughtful song. As the narrator gazes at the Universe spread across the sky they wonder where and how it all happened as well as having the realisation that nothing, especially us, lasts forever and what will happen to us? What happens when an ordinary star dies?
Permutations is an excellent album, with an artist who is as close as you can get to the whole package of composer, musician and singer who can both write and interpret music with a sound that is all her own. The album released on May 5th and is available on Bandcamp as a download. There’s also an album launch at Piano Smithfield, London on June 7th and various festival appearances through the summer.
Tony Birch
Artist’s website: https://www.clementinelovell.com/
‘True Thomas’ – a film by Marry Waterson:
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