LISTEN: “Whippoorwill” by Clock Opera

Comprised of Guy Connelly (vocals, guitar, sampler), Andy West (bass, guitar), Che Albrighton (drums), and Nic Nell (keyboards, vocals,) synth-driven London quartet Clock Opera are unveiling their second album ‘Venn’ via League of Imaginary Nations and !K7 on February 10th. A darker beast than their 2012 debut ‘Ways to Forget,’ the distinctive sound of Clock Opera — the agile alto voices, a sleek and supple rhythm section, immaculate production — is still present, but there’s a marked shift in lyrical tone.

“A lot of the album is about loss, absence, holes, haunting, questioning identity,” explains Connelly. “To be specific, the majority of the songs were inspired by a miscarriage. A lot of the others were driven by the fallout from it.” Although a darkly cerebral and grief-ridden record in theme, ‘Venn’ is as uplifting as it is sinister and ghostly, menacing and euphoric in equal measure. It’s an album named for “the intersection, the shared part, the hole in the middle.”