Billie Marten has released ‘Clover’, the latest single from her upcoming fifth album Dog Eared, out 18th July.
It follows Swing, Crown, Feeling and Leap Year, each offering a different glimpse of an artist gently but confidently reshaping her sound.
“’Clover’ is a song about feeling small but needing to appear big,” Billie says. “It’s a note on power and inequality.” The track feels airy and light on its feet, but the lyrics speak to deeper uncertainties. “I gained the human affliction of inventing things before they happen,” she adds. “I’m a multitude of anxieties.”
It’s the latest sign that Dog Eared will be a shift, albeit a subtle one. Billie recorded the album in New York with producer Phil Weinrobe, who’s worked with Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek, and was joined by a stacked band of collaborators including Núria Graham, Shahzad Ismaily, Sam Amidon and Mauro Refosco. The arrangements are richer, the textures warmer, but it’s still her voice and sensibility that hold everything together.
We last spoke to Billie in 2023, around the time of Drop Cherries, an “emotionally patient and quietly self-assured” record we gave four stars. You can read that interview here and our review here. If Drop Cherries was about honing her instincts, Dog Eared feels like the reward for trusting them.
There’s a busy few months ahead. Billie joins Elbow for three UK outdoor dates in June and July, plays Glastonbury’s Acoustic Stage on 27th June, and headlines the O2 Kentish Town Forum on 15th November as part of a UK and European tour. She’s also announced a second North American headline run in November and December. Full ticket info is at billiemarten.com.
