Clock Opera detail second record Venn and debut new single "Whippoorwill"

The London-based foursome are following up their long-awaited debut Ways To Forget. Venn was recorded between home and Kent's Squarehead Studios with Kristopher Harris (Matthew & The Atlas, Bear's Den).

"Whippoorwill" follows complex cut "In Memory" and bell-sampling pop ode "Changeling". It's a stunning outing from Clock Opera, with the stark emotion front and centre - there's no pop smoke or studio mirrors to blunt the lyrics. Subdued keys and crispy percussion back frontman Guy Connelly's falsetto, working in tandem to provide moments of poignancy rather than steal the limelight; by the time the chorus hits, all the elements are acting together to make sure you're left breathless.

Speaking about the track, Clock Opera say: "It's about an inability to escape a loss, trapped in a recurring dream, a haunted onomatapoem. Probably the simplest song we’ve done, it came out all in one piece, a bare and exposed half-life companion to ‘Changeling’."

Talking more generally about the album, Connelly adds: "A lot of the album is about loss, absence, holes, haunting, questioning identity. To be specific, the majority of the songs were inspired by a miscarriage. A lot of the others were driven by the fallout from it."

December

• 1 – Manchester Gorilla*
• 2 – Brudenell Social Leeds*
• 6 – Brighton The Haunt*
• 7 – Shepherds Bush Empire*

* = with The Boxer Rebellion.