On June 9th 2023, Berlin-based Bretford Records released Locust, the new solo album from Jeff Clarke – a stripped-down, melancholic change of pace from the Canadian musician whose boisterous garage rock compositions with the bands Demon’s Claws, Hellshovel, and the Black Lips led to King Khan identifying him as one of the “unsung heroes of rock n’ roll.”
This time out, Clarke’s sincere, poetic texts are accompanied only by his acoustic guitar. The warm, dreamy, minimalist folk sound is enhanced by the recordings themselves – all done in a single session, outdoors in a forest north of Berlin, Clarke’s adopted home since 2016.
The concept for the intimate setting came from Lorenz Szukal, guitarist in legendary Berlin indierockers Chuckamuck and die Verlierer, who recognized that Clarke’s songwriting, which he had long admired, would be equally powerful when pared down and showcased in a different light.
When the two took Szukal’s mobile recording equipment into the woods, the more naturalistic atmosphere revealed a mixture of light and shadow, fragility and resilience, pain and relief in the songs. And yet Locust is much more than a mere study in contrasts... more

released June 9, 2023

all songs written and performed by Jeffrey Allen Clarke
produced by Lorenz Szukal at O'tool studio
mastered by Norman Nitzsche
p + c 2023 Bretford Records
published by What Is Happening? I Feel It Everywhere! GmbH
*Whips of Holly, Stolen valor & Locust published by
Nuevo Black Lips / Primary Wave RTP B Publishing / Rough Trade Songs
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