“Understated” is not generally the first word that comes to mind in describing Alison Clancy, the singer/provocateur behind New York City group Electric Child, which gave an excellent demonstration of why this year at SXSW.

Yet when she’s not getting banned from local clubs for kicking stuff over, or tending to her other gig as a dancer for the Metropolitan Opera, Clancy fronts Huff This!, a group a little less in-your-face than its name would suggest — at least, on the first song. She calls it a dream-thrash band, and the tune, “Lovin You,” does indeed have a certain dreamy quality.

The song is a study in dynamics, opening with subdued instrumentation from guitar, piano and cello and ghostly vocals from Clancy. Her breathy voice grows flintier and more intense as the song builds into a swirling blend of piano, crashing cymbals and groaning cello from composer Chris Lancaster (at left above), for an effect that is at once riveting and a little uncomfortable — a sensibility magnified in this video, which features Clancy dancing on a litter-strewn beach in a skintight white bodysuit as the tide comes in.

Clancy says “Lovin You” is part of a nearly finished album called “Tuff Love,” due this fall.

LISTEN
Lovin You mp3

August 4, 2011 at 1:25 pm | Share |