Claire Welles: My Love Is Stronger Everyday

Long before Bandcamp provided the vital gateway for artists all around the world to peddle as much music as possible, Claire Welles was finding ways to release what now stands at 18 full-length albums.

Of course, there’s no let up for the Merseyside agent provocateur, simply because releasing new music is baked into Welles’ everyday remit. It’s just something she must do and following Balance of Nature which dropped earlier this year, Welles returns with her second 2024 cut, My Love Is Stronger Everyday.

In many respects, My Love Is Stronger Everyday is Welles like never before. The title alone feels as optimistic as she’s ever been. It’s an admirable trait, not just in this social climate, but for anyone who’s getting a bit longer in the tooth, because – to put it bluntly – everything just feels like it gets harder and harder every day. So with that, consider Welles’ latest opus the dose of hope we all need.

My Love Is Stronger Everyday sees Welles stretching out her songs beyond the customary three-to-four minutes and, in a twist of irony perhaps, it gives these songs a less-is-more feel. At seven songs clocking in at just under 43 minutes, it’s a sweet spot that may have evaded Welles on previous works.

Produced and mixed by Welles, she kicks things off with Fall in Love. It’s the first of many aces she produces in what is skewed pop with synths raining glitter from the sky. Here, Welles tugs on the stray thread woven through the frayed tapestry of ‘Madchester’, only there’s one thing: this sounds far more enchanting than anything produced from the drug-damaged forefathers of said movement.

It’s the perfect launch pad for Positively 9TH Set. A certified pop banger where Welles recounts the details of her school report amid gliding synths and skittish beats. It’s Welles at her bravely original best with an idea that’s likely to be pilfered by others in the coming years.

And the firsts keeping coming with Ruin the Game. Once again, Welles stumbles upon new creative landscapes with a hybrid of orbital dream-pop that drifts from the speakers like a sweet-smelling aroma. It’s a song that pulls you up into the ether, and this new sonic tinkering will serve the songwriter well for future releases.

Elsewhere, The Opposite of Drugs is like the karaoke reverb of the Eurythmics mixed no-wave. And closing cut Artex isn’t a world away from that, either. With a caffeine-rush bpm, it lifts the heart rate as Welles reaches for the stars.

It’s a timely end, perfectly framing My Love Is Stronger Everyday. A release that sees Welles offer sharp, off-kilter juxtapositions in both sound and theme (The Opposite of Drugs being the pick of the bunch). Releasing so much music as Welles does, the challenge is to find new ways, and throughout her 18-album reign, the songwriter somehow manages to. This is the latest door Welles has opened, and it leads to some of her best work so far.

My Love Is Stronger Everyday is out now. Purchase from Bandcamp.