ALICIA CATLING

There’s something wonderfully whimsical about the latest track from Alicia Catling, a young singer songwriter based in Cambridge. Inspired by Simon Armitage’s dark poem ‘The Clown Punk’, Clown Face treads a uniquely mesmerising line somewhere between irresistible psych-pop and the magical sounds of a mysteriously melancholic funfair. Listening to the playfully plucked strings, together with the mischievous keys and Catling’s enthralling vocals, you can’t help but feel as if you’re being led down a hall of mirrors, with shimmering dream pop glistening at every turn.

The effect is a haunting slice of folk-infused pop that brings to mind Belle & Sebastian, perhaps soundtracking the slow cranking of an eerie, ethereal Jack-in-the-Box.

Words by George Shaw

Tipped by Tiffany Daniels from Drunken Werewolf