As she nears the release of her sophomore album 'Don't Hurry the Dance' later this month, Naarm-based artist Clio Renner has shared the record's final single, 'Too Soon'.
A renowned keyboardist-songwriter who has been part of the RocKwiz house band the last decade, 'Too Soon' is a track that explores coming to terms with one's own faults, finding acceptance and moving forward.A sassy, sultry, bluesy-rock attitude opens the track, the stop-start, jittery flow mimicking the song's lyrical themes of facing your own hard truths, as Clio sings about getting 'your sh.t together' on the path to self-acceptance.
There's an almost dance-punk quality to the song's sound, an upbeat prog-poppiness that is heightened with the addition of strings two-thirds in that brings an emotive sheen to the track, creating a poignant moment of self-reflection.
The track closes out with a frenetic coalescing of sounds, the harmony of the rhythm radiating as violin, Clio's aromatic vocals and an almost galloping rhythm section mesh together for a vivid finale.
"I stepped out of lockdown into a life that was vastly different from the one I left behind," Clio says. "It was a wild shift – I basically threw everything away to start fresh, not realising that your past doesn't just disappear when you move away from it.
"'Too Soon' is about coming to terms with mistakes, facing hard truths, and accepting the parts of myself I've kept hidden for years."
Ahead of the song's release tomorrow (7 February), today scenestr is thrilled to premiere the 'Too Soon' music video, which was directed, produced and edited by Richard Clifford. Enjoy.
The video features Clio slowly being wrapped in red rope. "Filming this with Rick was a blast," adds Clio. "We tried rehearsing the 'mummification' – just to gauge time and rope.
"Turns out: 1. Ages 2. Heaps. Pre-wrapping and gluing? Useless. But every failure led to something better, and we pulled together some pretty powerful shots."
A graduate of VCA/University of Melbourne with a music improvisation degree, who has collaborated with the likes of Angus & Julia Stone, Missy Higgins, G Flip, Tim Rogers, and WILSN, 'Too Soon' was co-produced by Lawrence Folvig (Ainslie Wills).
It also features musical collaborations with Daniel Farrugia (Angus & Julia Stone, The Cat Empire), James Gilligan (Emma Donovan, Tambourine Jesus), Madeleine Jevons (Penny Quartet) and Charlotte Jacke.
Clio is gearing up to celebrate 'Don't Hurry The Dance' with a live show at The Gasometer (Melbourne) on 27 March, with supports from Imogen Cygler and Lewis Coleman.
