Review: Clare Maguire - 'Light After Dark'

By Leon van Wijk

Today, MySpace continues to provide a fertile soil for new talent. In 2009 the nineteen year-old Clare Maguire was discovered there, leading to a record deal with Polydor. After a creative process of two years, the result - 'Light After Dark' - is both unexpected and welcome.

The first generation of MySpace talents, typified by Lily Allen (discovered in 2005), is now largely part of the establishment. Whereas these first artists were mostly young girls who insulted their ex-boyfriends in no uncertain terms, Clare Maguire finally breaks this stereotype.

Maguire delivers a grown-up first album, strongly characterized by her full flawless voice, pleasing in both its higher and lower registers. Moreover, she uses it to touch her listeners. Her album starts off very strongly with the almost pompous though highly catchy 'The Shield and The Sword', and continues this way with 'The Last Dance'. The wonderful 'Freedom', a song with a second chorus of matchless beauty, is a good example of what can be found throughout the album: a nice combination of violins and piano on the one hand and electronic elements on the other.

On the rest of the album, Clare doesn't drop any stitches and clearly presents herself as a gifted singer with, above all, her own unique sound. 'I Surrender' and 'You're Electric' are mid-tempo songs with similar melodies and too much chorus, but here the lyrics and instrumentation are good as well. Due to its big sound, this album will suit stadiums better than smaller venues - which is in itself an achievement. It's a good thing though that there is also room for sensitive ballads such as the lyrically grabbing 'Bullet' and the quite emotional and fantastic album closer, 'This Is Not The End'.

'Light After Dark' is very well produced, beautifully written (in part by Maguire herself), and above all exceptionally well sung. This album stands apart as something different, surprising us by refusing to conform to the norm. Each song is potential single-material and it's very praiseworthy that a singer with a sound that is not too commercial has still managed to deliver a very radio-friendly album. A powerful debut, and one to be very proud of.

Originally published in Dutch on Studenten.net
Translation by the author and Paul Davis.