Back in October we introduced Sprecato, the forthcoming full-length from James Jonathan Clancy. Having made a name with art punks His Clancyness and noise outfit Brutal Birthday, as well as founding Maple Death Records, Clancy chose to put out the release under his own name. “Written and recorded between London and Bologna and featuring a transnational ensemble of collaborators,” we wrote in our preview, “the album takes inspiration from the ‘apocalyptic pastoralism’ of Michelangelo Setola’s Gli Sprecati, though ends up pushing into a territory all of its own.”
Clancy is joined by Stefano Pilia, Dominique Vaccaro, Andrea De Franco, Kyle Knapp, Andrea Belfi, Francesca Bono and Enrico Gabrielli in bringing this to life. Single ‘Had It All’ gave a glimpse of the aesthetic, “taking equal parts cosmic folk and spacious ambient styles,” as we wrote, “and applying them to a more traditional singer-songwriter sound.” But there is more to the album too, with influences as diverse as krautrock and the soundtracks of classic Italian cinema all bleeding into the mix. ‘Precipice’ captured some of this dramatic depth, balancing almost mechanical drums with a rising ambient backdrop.
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=1709393775 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small track=1453659217]
Now James Jonathan Clancy is back with ‘I Want You’. Described as “a kosmische outsider ballad,” the track typifies the duality of earthly and metaphysical sensibilities that makes the album stand out. As though in leaning so far into bucolic nature, Clancy pushes through into some cosmic otherside where everything is charged with spiritual energy and nothing is quite as it seems. But within this mysterious space sits something altogether more familiar, as the vocals long and pine and profess their love.
Artwork and illustration by Michelangelo Setola