Chloe Clouds finds the sweet spot between country heart and pop charm.
The recent passing of Dolly Parton left a pretty sizeable hole in the world of country-pop.
Nobody is filling that particular pair of boots, obviously. But it is very nice to be reminded that the balance of heart, humour and big, uncomplicated optimism is in safe hands with artists like Chloe Clouds.
On her debut EP Swings & Roundabouts, the UK singer-songwriter makes music that can look backwards without getting stuck there. There’s heartache, bad dates and a bit of romantic frustration, but Clouds rarely sounds defeated by any of it. She reflects, dusts herself off and keeps moving.
And optimism is a beautiful gift. Reflection can be too. Music that quietly manages both keeps the world humming along rather nicely.
Co-written and produced with Tyler Spicer, Swings & Roundabouts sits somewhere between Americana, country and straight-up pop, a lane Clouds has been gradually settling into across the singles leading up to the EP.
‘Merry Go Round’ establishes that tone beautifully. Written around the exhausting experience of falling for someone who keeps you hanging around without ever really going anywhere, it could easily have become miserable. Instead, Clouds gives the whole thing a lightness.
There’s a very simple philosophy sitting underneath it: sometimes you just have to get off the ride.
That combination of sincerity and good humour runs through the EP, but ‘Same Page’ might be the pick of the bunch.
It is hella catchy.
Clouds has a knack for taking an extremely ordinary relationship problem – where exactly is this going? – and making it feel charming rather than melodramatic. There’s even a Disney reference tucked into the lyrics, and somehow it works. The song really is that wholesome.
Refreshingly wholesome, actually. Here for it.
That sweetness could become a little too polished in someone else’s hands, but Clouds has enough personality in her delivery to stop Swings & Roundabouts from feeling overly squeaky-clean.
‘Let It Burn’ brings a little more smoke into the room. There’s more bite here, along with a sense of humour that shows another side of Clouds’ writing. It isn’t quite as immediate a banger as ‘Same Page’ or ‘Merry Go Round’, but that almost works in the EP’s favour.
A debut should show you somewhere an artist might go next, and ‘Let It Burn’ does exactly that.
Then there’s ‘Shooting Star’, a track we’ve already spent a bit of time with at Happy.
When we reviewed it earlier this year, what stood out was how naturally Clouds wears the country-pop thing. Coming back to it in the context of Swings & Roundabouts, that feeling only gets stronger.
There are shades of Shania Twain in the way Clouds approaches it — not because she’s trying to imitate Twain, but because the same instincts are there: keep the storytelling direct, make the hook count, don’t be afraid of polished pop production and, most importantly, have a bit of fun with it.
Twain helped reshape mainstream country in the late ’90s by pushing pop hooks, rock-sized production and playful songwriting right into the centre of the genre, and ‘Shooting Star’ taps into a little of that spirit.
Clouds has described the song as something of a “marmite track”, built around a comparatively stripped-back production and that lairy kick drum running through it. On the EP, though, it makes perfect sense.
It shows just how comfortable she is letting Americana, country and pop blur into one another without worrying too much about where one ends and the next begins.
And that probably sums up what is most likeable about Swings & Roundabouts.
There’s no great attempt here to make dating, heartbreak or falling back in love sound more complicated than they are. Clouds writes directly, sings warmly and understands that sometimes a catchy chorus is allowed to simply make you feel good.
That might sound like a small thing, but increasingly it doesn’t feel like one.
Swings & Roundabouts is warm, funny, reflective and very easy to like. It’s a debut from an artist who understands that country music doesn’t have to be miserable to have something to say.
Sometimes the roundabout stops, you get off, and life keeps going.
Thank goodness for that.
Listen to Swings & Roundabouts below.
