Imogen Clark is an Australian indie rock artist, hailing from the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. Her music ranges from the intimate to the arena-ready, rock anthems with the soul of a confessional singer-songwriter.
Despite the myriad challenges that 2020 brought to the music industry, Imogen had a banner year - she released a critically acclaimed EP, played a sold-out livestream concert series, performed back-to-back sold-out Sydney launch shows in September, dropped a nostalgic Christmas single, and wrapped it all up with an epic First Annual Holiday Hootenanny gig with her musical mates – including Montaigne, Jack Moffitt (The Preatures), Lindsay McDougall (Frenzal Rhomb) and more.
The 26-year-old has lost none of her momentum in 2021, with her powerful new EP ‘Bastards’. The six-track collection, begun in person in LA with a cast of rock legends, then later finished remotely over Zoom during the pandemic, is the most raw and intense music Clark has released to date.
“If The Making of Me was about embracing all of who I am, this album is about me confronting and process the impact my relationships with the people in my life have had on me – family, lovers and friends, losing people, being betrayed and learning how and when to cut the cord,” says Imogen. “I really put my heart through the meat grinder and challenged myself to make this record, and I’m so proud to put this music out into the world”.
Reteaming with LA-based producer Mike Bloom (Julian Casablancas, Jenny Lewis), Imogen builds on the rich, dynamic sound of her last EP, taking everything to a new level – the drums hit harder, the guitars are louder, the emotions more intimate and transparent. Across the six songs, Imogen sings about betrayal in love (Forget About London), a couple too afraid to end a doomed relationship (Casualty), her family’s history of addiction (Never This Time), the loss of her mentor to suicide (First Class Man) and the men in the industry who refuse to see women as their equals (Bastards).
Amongst the murderer’s row of collaborators on the record include Men at Work’s Colin Hay, Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith, Rilo Kiley’s Jason Boesel and Melbourne indie-pop artist Eilish Gilligan as co-writers, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench and Elvis Costello and the Attractions drummer Pete Thomas lending their legendary chops to the recordings.
Cutting her teeth playing in local pubs in the Blue Mountains during her teen years before touring and recording around the world, from the US to Europe to the UK, Imogen brings the depth and confidence of a seasoned rocker to the stage despite her youth. Taking inspiration from legends like Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell as much as contemporary influences like Gang of Youths and Phoebe Bridgers, Imogen’s music continues to dissolve the barriers between her emotions and her audience, even as her music and shows get bigger in size and scope.
Released in August of last year, Imogen Clark’s The Making Of Me EP garnered widespread acclaim both in Australia and North America. Praised for its raw honesty by fans and critics, the six-track offering showcased Imogen’s powerful vocal and reflective lyrics.
The Making Of Me features a star-studded line-up with players from some of the world’s greatest rock bands, and local artists Alex Lahey, Clare Bowen, Emma Swift, Anita Lester and more can be found across EP singles ‘Found Me’, ‘My Own Worst Enemy’, ‘The Making Of Me’, and ‘Paper Boat’.
2021 has already been the biggest year of Imogen’s career to date, including a sold-out Sydney residency, a packed-out secret EP launch show streamed around the world, regional touring, rave reviews for Bastards and now the release of her first ever live record Not A Little Girl, a tantalising taste of what to expect when she takes the stage with her electrifying band for headline shows in November.