After winning the Mercury prize with his 2015 debut At Least for Now, Benjamin Clementine chose the path of art, not commerce. His second outing, I Tell a Fly, was an anguished 2017 commentary on the refugee crisis framed by the conceit of two houseflies in love. For his third, Clementine – from London, but a veteran of Paris busking spots – finds himself on his own label, having seen out Covid in California, where he has a promising side-gig as an actor (The Herald of the Change in 2021’s Dune). His last release was as the Clementines, a duo with his partner, Flo Morrissey.
Written, played and produced exclusively by Clementine, And I Have Been is a more straightforwardly elegant listen than I Tell a Fly. Melodies abound, orchestral elements trade off with electronics, and Clementine’s still-startling voice, an elastic tenor capable of shock and awe as well as succour, is front and centre.
That doesn’t mean this record goes down smooth, though. So much of Clementine’s graceful music comes from a place of pain. Tracks like the Parisian-leaning waltz Genesis, or the stark opener Residue, tackle Clementine’s complex heritage. But everyday Sisyphean universals are well represented on piano ballads such as Copening or the string-laden Delighted. Difference, meanwhile, is a meditation about making a difference in the world, a song that’s as rueful as it is catchy.
