Patience – Dizzy Spells
Roxanne Clifford's debut album as Patience, Dizzy Spells is a bright yet bittersweet collection of 80s-inspired dancefloor tunes
Across two albums with Veronica Falls, Roxanne Clifford helped to craft often gloomy but sometimes warm and jangly indie-pop. When she released her first tracks under the moniker of Patience, she threw long-time listeners a curveball. As a new vehicle for Clifford’s songwriting, she's swapped guitars for electronics; with the likes of The Pressure, she harnessed vintage, 80s-inflected synths and created gems destined for the dancefloor.
Clifford continues to plumb the depths of these electronic tones on Dizzy Spells, her debut album as Patience, with urgent opener The Girls Are Chewing Gum bursting forth with its lively grooves and stratospheric hook. Scratch the bright surface though and a consistent dichotomy between vibrant and melancholic is revealed. White of An Eye is propelled by a bouncy undercurrent and a jangly guitar refrain, but Clifford intones: 'I haven’t seen it in a while / The light that comes from a smile'.
Much of the album follows suit, but the likes of dextrous bilingual powerhouse Moral Damage, where Clifford is joined by fellow former Veronica Falls member Marion Herbain, and closer Silent House, with its warped choral opening and almost baroque keys, break the mould. Such moments help prevent Dizzy Spells from becoming one-note by putting a different spin on the happy-sad formula, keeping it a bright yet bittersweet full-length exploration of Clifford’s new sonic world.
Listen to: White of An Eye, Moral Damage