“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.”

Doyle 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.

Other 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