Back in 2009 one of the first albums I ever bought with my own money was the self titled debut of the British musician Polly Scattergood. Her distinct vocal, hauntingly beautiful atmospheric sound and poetic lyrical performances had me hooked from day one and I’ve been a huge fan of her music ever since. She’s released critically acclaimed albums and wide array of singles since then but there’s something about the emotional poignancy in Clouds that struck a nerve with me unlike anything before it.
“I began writing clouds with Jim Sclavunos from The Bad Seeds in my windowless studio in Camden, London,” Polly Scattergood begins to explain. “When I first started writing this song I was at a bit of a crossroads in my life and I remember Jim said ‘just keep creating, keep writing, keep moving onwards’ I very much held onto that advice throughout this album process. A few months after starting ‘Clouds’ I found myself with Glenn in Fuerteventura overlooking a volcano and the track we had started writing in Camden came into my head, I was feeling much more at peace and the rest of the song flowed out into its final form.”
The track is about moving and finding comfort in the ever shifting world around us with verses focusing on the small moments we take for granted whilst the chorus hones in on the bigger picture we’re apart of and the peace we find within the constant cycle of life. The lyrics are stunning, honestly they’re pure poetry, the intimate production helps amplify this even further as Scattergood’s signature airy vocal sends shivers down my spine as she delicately utters them to us. Beautiful, sensational and utterly outstanding.