On the first single from Alicia Clara’s newly announced EP Velveteen, the Swiss-Canadian songwriter strips dream pop from the harsh lineage of shoegaze and instead fuses it with the calming sounds of Americana. As the first taste of the project—expected out October 28 via Hot Tramp Records—“Only Fools Wish for Love” is a dreamy track that places Clara’s near-whispered vocals alongside an instrumental that came naturally to her upon improvising on a new guitar. The lyrics followed suit, leading her into some much-needed self-reflection.
“As I often do, I kind of improvised the lyrics for the first verse just to create a melody, and then I made it make sense with what I felt I was subconsciously touching upon,” she explains of how the song came together. “Ultimately the song is a reflection on my cynicism towards love these past few years, but also on how I shut myself off and how I subconsciously attract complicated situations my way because that’s the only way I know how to ‘love.’ In truth, I only know how to be at the mercy of a situation that is unhealthy. I don’t know how to—and won’t let myself—appreciate something easygoing. In the end, I am the fool. The fool is me.”
The track arrives with an equally dreamy, mostly black-and-white video, with images of water superimposed over scenes of Clara singing. Check it out below.
