Premiere: Clare Doyle performs unreleased song, “High Again”
by Luke Taylor and Evan Clark
July 15, 2024
“High Again” is a new song by St. Paul-based Americana artist Clare Doyle — but it’s one that has been nurtured for quite a while.
“I had had the first two lines of the chorus in my head for a long time and loved how it felt to sing them,” Doyle explains. “Even just that tiny piece of the song felt like it was setting up a big sound, especially on the chorus, which I loved and tried to lean into, so I carried it around until I found the rest of the song.”
Doyle was struck when she had completed the song and noticed it contained an unexpected combination of time signatures. She sent a smartphone-recorded demo of the song to her guitarist, Kai Brewster. “A few hours later, he sent back a picture of the sheet music he’s written out and it looked like a Jackson Pollock painting or something,” Doyle says. “So it’s a little funky, but I think it feels the most like my own sound and voice out of anything I’ve written yet.”
Minnesota Music Month Scouting Report 2024: Clare DoyleDoyle says “High Again” comes directly from her experience with addiction, something she has faced since she was a teenager, noting she has now been sober for nearly four years. “I'm mostly past the point of missing the actual booze or drugs,” Doyle says, “so the place I was in when I was writing was more like, I know there's something bigger and better and purer and sweeter than those things, because I've felt it, and that's what I'm really after — I want the real thing: real joy, real connection, real pleasure, a real high. … When I wrote the words ‘I wanna be high again,’ it wasn’t so much about missing the things I used to use. It’s more like, I miss knowing where to find what I need.”
When it comes to finding what she needs musically — like bringing “High Again” to its full realization — Doyle looks to Brewster, with whom she’s played for more than a year, and to Taylor James Donskey, with whom she’s collaborated musically for nearly two. “When I bring them a song, it’s just me and an acoustic guitar and my lyrics and melody,” Doyle says, “so I rely on them to write their own parts and really give the song its sound, and we’ve been able to start collaborating a little further, like on arrangements and whatnot, which is just the best. It’s cool to have that level of trust.
“Vocal rehearsals with a cappella, three-part harmonies are magical,” Doyle adds.
On Thursday, June 27 — just before The Current’s Happy Hours event at Milk & Honey Ciders in St. Joseph, Minnesota — MPR technical director Evan Clark, along with Doyle, Brewster, and Donskey, decided to gather under the large outdoor shelter at Milk & Honey Ciders and recorded a stripped-down version of “High Again.” Watch the full performance above.
Clare Doyle delights at Milk & Honey CidersOther than this video, “High Again” has yet to be released. “I’m working on recording a group of songs — which will either be released as an LP or as two ‘sister’ EPs, released in the fall and winter, respectively,” Doyle explains. “‘High Again’ will definitely be a single at some point, but the release date is TBD. Stay tuned!”
Musicians
Clare Doyle – vocals, guitar
Kai Brewster – backing vocals
Taylor James Donskey – backing vocals
Credits
Guest – Clare Doyle
Video and audio – Evan Clark
Graphics – Natalia Toledo
Digital Producer – Luke Taylor
External Link
Clare Doyle – official site
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