Cloves

Australian singer/songwriter Cloves surfaced during the 2010s, crafting a lush sonic palette anchored by smoky vocals that echoed the atmospheres of Lana Del Rey and Adele. Her introductory EP, the 2015 release XIII, emphasized sparseness so that her voice could occupy the foreground. Although the production and instrumental layers expanded on her energetic first album One Big Nothing, her vocal presence continued to define the work. Toward the close of the decade she folded in rhythmic programming on the brooding dark-pop track “Dead,” which appeared on the 2021 album Nightmare on Elmfield Road.

Born Kaity Dunstan in Melbourne, she began performing publicly at thirteen, taking the stage in small bars alongside her older sister and more seasoned bandmates. Despite her youth, the timbre of her delivery lent an aged, weighty quality to her songs; Amy Winehouse, Etta James, and Fiona Apple figured prominently among her reference points. In 2013 she competed on the second season of Australia’s edition of the singing program The Voice, offering renditions of Melanie Safka’s “Brand New Key” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”

Two years afterward she launched her independent career. She adopted the name Cloves following a journey to Bali and cut her earliest recordings with Justin Parker, known for work with Lana Del Rey, Sia, and Rihanna, and with Rich Cooper, whose credits include Tom Odell and Mumford & Sons. The EP XIII arrived in 2016, its spare acoustic arrangements framing her full-bodied singing. That same year “Don’t Forget About Me” was placed on the soundtrack for the film Me Before You. She next issued “Better Now,” the opening single from her debut album, which introduced heavier percussion beneath her characteristically measured pace. “California Numb” surfaced in 2017 and “Bringing the House Down” followed in 2018; all three tracks formed part of the blues-inflected One Big Nothing, whose sound was augmented by a live backing band.

A 2019 interpretation of “Blowin’ in the Wind” preceded another stylistic turn on the 2020 single “Dead,” which brought sinuous alt-pop production into her catalog. The song reappeared on her second album, Nightmare on Elmfield Road, whose production team included Clarence Coffee, Jr., Hudson Mohawke, Detonate, and additional contributors.