Claire Atheron - Background - Track Review

 Harry Mcilroy - harrymcilroy100@gmail.com



Claire Atheron

"Background"

Genre - Neo Soul / R&B

Claire Atherton is an R&B influenced solo artist hailing from Birmingham, England. After spending years cultivating her vocal talents in the live setting and releasing a handful of covers, Claire breaks onto the scene with her commercial debut, the wonderfully smooth neo-soul ‘Background’.


Opening with some relaxed reverb-drenched indie flavoured guitars which continue to flow throughout the running time, the mix is surrounded by subtly trippy swirls of noise and feedback. These are the details that matter, as it gives everything so much more depth and presence. The drums are very dynamic, swapping out the usual pop repetition for an exciting and ever-shifting tempo. They guide the rest of the instrumentation perfectly, allowing the momentum to never cease. It all has an impressively “live” sound, as if I'm hearing a performance right in front of me.


When the vocals hit, they positively swagger onto the mix. Hitting every note perfectly, it’s immediately apparent how they’ve been cultivated by the live music scene. Having the ability to see an audience's reaction in real time is vital in achieving a sound like this. Claire has covered artists like Jorja Smith and Billie Eilish in the past (all which can be found on youtube), and the influence is definitely there. The softer lines and vocal melodies have as much power and weight as when it gets louder, it’s a very difficult style pulled off effortlessly.  


Lyrically, Background spends its time ruminating on a lover's unrequited attention. As the instrumental grows in intensity, so does the feeling of desperate longing. When these heavy distorted guitars hit at the end of the third verse, that feeling practically permeates the mix. It takes the track up to a whole new level, a crowd-pleasing moment of boisterous energy absolutely pervading the climax with impressively full bodied momentum.


Overall, the song smoothly floats along like the very best of 70s rhythm and blues. Super tightly constructed, no sound or idea overstays its welcome.  It’s obvious that Background would absolutely kill in the live setting, though it never sacrifices authenticity.



Covers:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5YW54n-uP4FxygP5ePhKHg

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