Tara Clerkin Trio

Somewhere Good is the first new music from the Bristol three-piece - Tara Clerkin, Sunny Joe Paradisos, and Patrick Benjamin – since their acclaimed 2023 mini album, On The Turning Ground. Described by Pitchfork as an “amble through blissful psych-pop and washed-out breakbeats, harpsichord interludes and dubby balladry”, it’s already on its fourth repress, as are previous releases In Spring and the 2019 self-titled debut. "Formed in Bristol UK (where none of them are from yet all of whom are deeply engrained) in 2020, the Tara Clerkin Trio – as it somewhat democratically exists today, despite the singular authority implied by its name – consists of the titular Tara Clerkin, her partner Sunny Joe Paradisos, and Sunny’s brother, Patrick Benjamin. I’ll confess, I don’t know what their respective roles are within the operation and there’s only a very small part of me that cares to learn, as one of my favorite qualities in an objective listening experience is the mystery of who is playing what, which sounds are “authentic” versus synthesized, which chunks are performed “live” in a room together versus meticulously Frankenstein’ed from measure to measure, or how exactly the overall sound is so (seemingly) effortlessly achieved. Though, I suspect, if and when I do witness a live performance by this band at any point, my enjoyment of the music will not be lost in my better understanding of it." – Ryan Davis