Already, gathering seeds for 2021 crops
and competitive world.
But Clark opted to forge ahead and release the album as scheduled, citing, in part, a feeling she had that especially now, people needed new music.
It was a bittersweet moment for Clark, who canceled the release party that would’ve been held at a downtown Nashville bar. Instead, the King School graduate, who’d started playing music and writing songs at age 12, found herself back at her parents’ Connecticut home as the album released.
“It’s so weird going back to my childhood bedroom,” Clark said. “When I was in high school, I would write songs on my bed. I feel like I’m in a time machine and I’m taken back to that place. It’s so weird.”
Among other adjustments, the scenery change brought with it a vastly different creative experience than Clark had become accustomed to in Nashville, where she regularly participated in co- writes and performed with other musicians.
Now, she meets with other artists only via Zoom. Concert dates scheduled for the summer, in the southeast, and fall, in New England, are presumably canceled, though she hopes to play one- offs as states reopen.
It was a difficult blow to be dealt to an artist early in her career. But Clark seems undeterred.
In addition to radio play, she’s been profiled in several Nashville magazines. Her music is featured on a multitude of Spotify playlists and the album’s lead single, “Cave,” has gotten nearly 20,000 plays.
And Clark plans to record new music. She’s awaiting a return to Nashville and a studio. Her goal is to release new singles by the fall and expand Lovers Mark into a fulllength LP.
In terms of her songwriting, she’s begun exploring new subjects, partly out of necessity and partly as she matures artistically. Walks around her neighborhood and movies she’s watching at home provide fodder for new material.
Her latest music is more danceable than those on Lovers Mark, which is a collection of pop songs with a slight twang — she cites Taylor Swift as among her biggest influences — each of which is a reflection on her personal experiences in and out of love.
“I wanted it to be this cohesive piece that represented love and lust and heartache,” Clark said. “I wanted it to be about that person, or those people, who have left a mark on you.”
The irony is not lost on Clark. Love in the time of coronavirus looks and feels different than it did a year ago, when she wrote the songs.
But, paradoxically, Clark wonders if her songs — about lovers spurned, missed connections and budding romance — might especially resonate during a profoundly lonely time.
“I get texts from my friends about my songs,” Clark said. “They’ll be like, ‘ I just listened to “Terminal 4” like 10 times this morning because I needed to hear it right now. ... ‘ I feel like now more than ever people want that. They want those songs during this time.”