Image credit: Sequoia Ziff
A glistening alt-pop track that blends tender vocal harmonies with lush electronic textures, ‘Under Attack’ arrives as Clifton 2.5’s debut original single, following the release of reworked covers of Bombay Bicycle Club’s “Always Like This” and Go West’s “King of Wishful Thinking” earlier this year.
Stemming from a memory Clifton 2.5 had of being at school and experiencing relationships for the first time, the artist explains:
“This song is about the idea of preserving part of yourself in a relationship, not letting everything go at once but keeping your mind separate from the demands of a relationship until you find someone who you can really trust.”
“Under Attack” also arrives alongside the announcement of Clifton 2.5’s debut EP ‘Outskirts of Nowhere’. Set to land on 14 April via Leafy Outlook, the four-track release was produced by Ross Dorkin (Beatenberg) and features three previously unheard tracks.
Spanning a wide range of both genre and influence, the EP includes “Crossed Lines”, a song about “how it feels to let love go” that was recorded using a half-broken electric organ found in the studio; “Are you singing to me?”, a retro-tinted cut about “standing in the audience watching someone sing and believ[ing] that their message is meant for you alone”; and the EP’s assured title-track “Outskirts of Nowhere”, a piece inspired by the acclaimed novel ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ and the first song Clifton 2.5 ever recorded.
London-based singer-songwriter, saxophonist and guitarist Clifton 2.5 only started pulling together her solo project in 2021, but songs have been pervading her thoughts since she was a child. A self-professed nerd, she spent her formative years singing choral music and translating A.A Milne into Ancient Greek, before later releasing that pop music could be cool too.
With a musical language that spans ‘70s soul, rock, R&B, folk and pop, Clifton 2.5 refuses to be tightly labelled. Her vocal style has been moulded by years of singing in choirs, with inflections reminiscent of The Cranberries and Joni Mitchell set against a modern backdrop.
Clifton 2.5 also quotes Tierra Whack, HAIM, Beatenberg, Phoebe Bridgers and Ethan Gruska as major influences, taking particular inspiration from how these artists combine acoustic and electronic sounds to create an unidentifiable magic.
With ‘Outskirts of Nowhere’ ready for release this April, the singer-songwriter is also gearing up to announce live shows soon.
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