With Somewhere Good, the Tara Clerkin Trio further establishes itself as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British experimental music. The Bristol-based group takes familiar elements of trip-hop, jazz-folk, downtempo electronics, and avant-pop and reshapes them into something quietly transportive.
The album feels both meticulously crafted and wonderfully elusive, drifting between melancholy and comfort while maintaining a sense of mystery throughout.
Throughout the album, the trio of Tara Clerkin, Sunny Joe Paradisos, and Patrick Benjamin balances subtle experimentation with emotional immediacy. Opener ‘Lake Walk’ is deceptively simple, blending soft textures, understated rhythms, and Clerkin’s calming vocal presence into a brief but immersive entry point. It sets the album’s dreamlike tone without revealing all of its secrets.
‘Ups & Downs’ expands the palette considerably. What begins as a gentle, almost weightless composition gradually opens into a richer arrangement, with subtle jazz influences surfacing beneath the electronic haze. The track highlights the trio’s ability to surprise listeners without disrupting the album’s natural flow.
The standout, ‘Silently‘, stretches across nearly seven minutes and showcases the group at their most confident. Layers of drifting instrumentation, delicate melodies, and patient development create an absorbing atmosphere that rewards repeated listens. It captures the balance between experimentation and accessibility that defines the trio’s appeal.
Built on a looping, interlocking vibraphone‑and‑piano motif, the hypnotic title track finds Clerkin at her most grounded, singing of seeking refuge amid the chaos.
From there, ‘Slow Island‘ drifts in, a rare, striking duet between Clerkin and Benjamin, set against dub‑tinged bass and wandering woodwinds. Politically sharp yet quietly mournful, it confronts the realities of gentrification and the feeling of being priced out of your own hometown.
‘Movin’ On‘ closes the record with a playful burst of chaos, shifting into a double‑time experimental dub workout that fizzes with found‑sound field recordings, toy‑box percussion, and sloshing water samples. Forward‑looking and cathartic, it sends the album out on an optimistic note – a little messy, a little mischievous, and full of the promise of movement, both physical and creative.
Across the album, themes of displacement, restlessness, and self-reflection are filtered through arrangements that feel spacious and alive. Rather than leaning heavily on Bristol’s trip-hop legacy, Tara Clerkin Trio uses it as a foundation for something uniquely their own. Somewhere Good is a beautiful evolution of their sound, filled with subtle details, emotional depth, and a quiet sense of wonder that lingers long after the final, playful notes fade.
