Live Report: Imogen Clark at The Hotel Cafe (May 29, 2024)

b.liebman

June 1

As those of you who have been following our site for a minute, it's no surprise I'm a fan of Australian (and now Nashville-based) songwriter Imogen Clark. Since first hearing her excellent pop rock single "My Own Worst Enemy" I've been keeping up with the new music she's been releasing, with her last EP Bastards being one of my Top EPs of 2021. Clark's music falls somewhere in between the confessional singer-songwriter music of Taylor Swift and the more rock-leaning pop of Olivia Rodrigo, and those comparisons alone should get you listening to her music.

Now that she's a U.S. resident, and with her new album The Art of Getting Through released this last Friday, she finally made her way back to Los Angeles, giving me my first opportunity to see her perform live. Dressed in a Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA tank top and leather pants, Clark was a humble and grateful performer, as she played a number of songs from her new album, plus one powerful classic.

Opening with "If I Want In", what quickly stood out to me was how strong of a singer Clark was. Her songs have always drawn me in do to the strong songwriting, but in a live setting, her talents as a vocalist were able to shine, as she belted out her collection of bops. She followed with the new album's title track, and then the powerhouse "Big One". Her backing band, including producer/co-songwriter Mike Bloom, took a short breaks for Clark to play solo on piano ("The Last of Me") while they also figured out an issue with the pedal board keeping Bloom's guitar from being heard. Clark used the moments of technical difficulties to thank the audience for being there, and discuss her journey from Australia to Nashville, along with some stories behind the songs.

The most moving of these stories was when she revealed the origin of "First Class Man", her beautiful duet with Colin Hay from Bastards. The song was inspired by Clark's mentor Glen Hannah, who as Clark so poetically put it, "lost his battle with depression". When she went into the song, with Bloom covering Hay's vocal parts, the track took on new meaning for me, and certainly had me choked up.

Other tracks played during the set were her most Swiftian-song "All Hard Feelings", rocker "The Noise", playful "Sebastian", and to close out the show, Clark went solo on acoustic for the meaningful "If Your Heart Never Breaks". While I'm a bit sad she didn't play "Enemy", now that she's in the U.S., I'm sure she'll be back in California soon, and I recommend all of you checking her out when she does.

Hear her new album now!

https://open.spotify.com/album/3AsAfXvoe0kD8YBw4u8ffM?si=9VU41VRcSlSXFpONJpfo4Q