“Crashing Cars” is the Pop-Rock head of the spear to Clare Follett’s upcoming sophomore break up album. Rehashing a metaphor as old as Karl Benz himself, the St. John’s, Newfoundland-based artist makes the comparison of an impending car wreck to all the excitement of a whirlwind relationship. More importantly, we see Follett shine as she takes the reins as the album’s producer.
While it’s not the first time Follett has put herself in the producer’s chair, having previously produced her debut album, it is the first time she’s done so with a full band under her wing. Still taking on a good deal of the work herself, with Follett handling vocals, electric guitar, keys and bass, she is joined by fellow Reckless Hearts bandmates Nick Earle on guitar and Dan George on drums, along with Kirsten Rodden-Clarke and Andrew Rodgers providing backing vocals.
Follett describes the shift from playing almost all of the instruments on her first record to playing with a full band as a great experience and a chance for her to do something different.
“Getting to kind of direct the things that the session players do while also having them put their own spin on the songs was really great and sometimes completely transformed the tunes into something new,” says Follett.
Working with her Reckless Hearts bandmates Nick Earle and Dan George makes things relatively simple as Follett swaps places for creative control with Earle. Follett says that the role reversal makes the process much easier.
“It was very rewarding to be involved and trusted with something that Clare has put so much work into, and I look forward to creating and performing with her in the future,” adds Earle, who recorded his tracks remotely and says he had to put on his “session player cap”. “She’s a brilliant player, an excellent producer, and a kind soul. I hope she brings us along with her to the top because that’s where she’s headed.”
“All of the relationships and vibes are there, but it’s in a completely different context and genre,” says Follett. “I think Nick and I are both very comfortable with being frontmen/women, as well as being side musicians, so it is a nice and easy transition to make.”
“I actually have a tendency to be a bit of a control freak! In some sessions, the musicians would play something which was not what I had originally intended, and I would have them go back and do it the way I wanted it, but I almost always ended up going with their way.
“I think I have to work myself up to the idea of giving someone else complete control over my songs. It’s not something I would’ve been ready for with this record. It is something that I might like to pursue in the future though, it might be nice to have someone with another perspective put their ideas into the mix.
“I’ve tried working in a couple of different areas of the music business and production is definitely one of my favourites. It’s a crazy amount of work, but I find bringing a song from an acoustic demo on an iPhone to a massive sounding recording really rewarding.”
In an industry that has chronically suffered from a lack of female producers, with roughly just 2% of producers identifying as female, Follett taking the reins on the project is an encouraging step. It’s a step that can be attributed more to Follett making opportunities for herself and, if we might misuse a quote, the idea that technology makes all musicians tall.
“It can be a bit discouraging at times for sure. It takes a lot of confidence in your abilities to be a good producer and, a lot of the time, female producers will have countless people around them mansplaining every little detail, leaving them questioning themselves,” says Follett.
“I’ve been very lucky to have always worked in really supportive environments, but I know not every woman has that. I think the rise of digital basement recording has been really good for making it a more accessible field though. Anybody with a laptop and $200-500 to spend can produce a record. It’s just a matter then of determining who does it well.”
“Crashing Cars” was one of the first songs to be demoed for Reclamation and one that changed the most from beginning to end. Part learning curve, part distance, Follett chalks it up to part of the process for a new producer working with some new challenges.
“I was super new to working with other people’s ideas,” says Follet. The guitar tracks were recorded remotely, so when they were sent to me I was really caught off guard for a moment because they sounded very different from what I had in the demo. But once I managed to get the sounds that I was used to out of my head, I realized that the new guitars brought the song to a whole other level. It’s one of my favourites from the record.”
As the album’s first single, “Crashing Cars” provides an overture of sorts, it’s the roadmap from beginning to disastrous end on this breakup album that outlines every step of the way. As a narration of the dissolving relationship, heartbreak, and presumably reclamation, Follett details the agony, the lessons and subsequent growth, and not without excitement.
“‘Crashing Cars’ is a general commentary on a whirlwind relationship which doesn’t work out,” says Follett. “So, in a way, it encapsulates all of those phases and summarizes in one song. There wasn’t much questioning what the lead single would be, this one was the obvious choice.”
Clare Follett’s sophomore album, Reclamation, is slated to be released early October 2020.