Clara Moschetta highlights the vulnerable, quirky, and charming of her devastating sound on new EP Worthy Conversations Around a Kitchen Table
An artist who has spent the last few years establishing an intimate and thoughtful sound that hits hard with its resonating themes and the honesty and heart that she pours into everything that she does, Clara Moschetta has now provided us with the most realised and immersive showcase of her distinctive style with the release of her new EP Worthy Conversations Around a Kitchen Table, a collection of tracks that explore a range of themes ranging from life, politics, our perceptions of ourselves, and many other topics that are framed in the conversational nature of its title.
The EP’s opening track ‘Cut Up Fruit’ is an instantly captivating introduction to the artist’s sonic world, with her powerful vibrato vocals and stirring lyrics offering a worthy accompaniment to a piano ballad that explores a turbulent love in vibrant and soul-baring fashion. Clara’s personality and her trademark wit and charm have characterised her work throughout her time releasing music, and these tracks look sure to be full of one of her most transfixing qualities.
The vulnerable ‘Water Safer Than Land’ follows and explores harrowing themes like growing up with no real place of solace or place to feel truly safe. The lyrical themes delve into some really poignant territory here and her vocals once again match the intensity perfectly, with the brooding instrumentation and piano creating an atmospheric listening experience that builds and builds in the most absorbing and gripping fashion, making for another deeply personal and memorable highlight on the EP.
If you thought that things had felt devastating enough already, then ‘Father Never Tells Me’ ups the ante, taking on a more stripped-back and minimalist approach to the artist’s sound as she explores her feelings around her relationship with her titular patriarch and heartbreakingly delves into the things she wishes he would, or even wouldn’t, say. This track has a really potent and personal feel to it, but listeners who have experienced similar situations or relationships will find a lot to resonate with and find a sense of home and solidarity within.
The candid and matter-of-fact nature of the artist’s writing and how openly she explores her deepest feelings and vulnerabilities makes for a collection of tracks here that have a transformative effect on you as a listener, and ‘Regret’ provides one of the more conversational, forthright moments on the EP. The track’s flowing nature and the way that the artist’s words seem to come out almost off the cuff and in the moment give it this really natural and earnest feel that makes you resonate with the already likeable artist’s arguments and lyrics even more.
‘TV’ is a disarmingly fun and melodic track that utilises a more fun and upbeat soundscape to mask a narrative that surrounds themes like perception, body dysmorphia, and the media manipulation that has so many people feeling such a way. The hand-claps and quirky instrumentation do their best job of distracting you from the more harrowing nature of the track and its lyrics, and this combination makes for a really disconcerting contrast that feels as interesting and thoughtful as anything we have heard all year.
If you had to describe Worthy Conversations Around a Kitchen Table in a word it would be ‘heavy’, with heavy subject matter and the compelling ways that the artist articulates her struggles and the feelings that she grapples with making for a listening experience that demands your attention and does a great job of holding onto it. There are some really fun and intricate aspects to the soundscapes that deserve their own praise and acclaim, but it is the weight of Clara’s words that leaves the most lasting impression on you, and whether you resonate with them yourself or just connect with the artist thanks to her vivid descriptions and powerful writing, it is a body of work that feels impactful throughout its five tracks.
