Tara Clerkin Trio Somewhere Good
Tara Clerkin Trio's Somewhere Good announces a distinct, dreamy world where jazz, dub and trip-hop textures conspire to haunt and console. Across six professional reviews the record earned an 81.83/100 consensus score, and critics repeatedly point to a singular sonic identity built from textural experimentation, hypnot
The best song, “Ups & Downs”, is praised for its dramatic build and operatic, eerie crescendo.
The album's strengths are its dreamlike soundscapes, blending jazz-folk, avant-pop and trip-hop into a nostalgic but fresh voice.
Best for listeners looking for trip hop revival and dark atmosphere, starting with Lake Walk and Somewhere Good.
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Full consensus notes
Tara Clerkin Trio's Somewhere Good announces a distinct, dreamy world where jazz, dub and trip-hop textures conspire to haunt and console. Across six professional reviews the record earned an 81.83/100 consensus score, and critics repeatedly point to a singular sonic identity built from textural experimentation, hypnotic repetition and homesick nostalgia.
Reviewers agree the best songs on Somewhere Good are immediate lodestars: “Ups & Downs” and “Lazy Daisy” recur as highlights for their emotional contrast - “Ups & Downs” moves from late-night dub jazz into a thrilling crescendo while “Lazy Daisy” offers a sunlit dubbed ballad - and the title track “Somewhere Good” alongside opener “Lake Walk” and closer “Movin’ On” are praised for crystallising the album's hush-and-swell logic. Critics consistently note how long, unspooling arrangements let hooks arrive late, with electronics and sampling carving instrumental space rather than filling it.
While praise centers on inventive production and melodic songwriting, reviews also register restraint as a defining trait: some critics admire the patient rewards of its textures, others point out that the atmosphere occasionally privileges mood over immediacy. Taken together the professional reviews suggest Somewhere Good is a rewarding, slightly elusive follow-up that foregrounds psychedelic nostalgia and urban transience, a record best experienced in repeated listens.
For a quick verdict: the consensus score and recurring standout tracks signal that Somewhere Good is worth exploring for those drawn to trip-hop and dub-inflected jazz with a melancholic, richly layered touch.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Lake Walk
2 mentions
"Lake Walk opens the record like the title screen of an 8-bit videogame"— The Skinny
Somewhere Good
3 mentions
"the arresting title track is a surreal ode worthy of late 60s Canterbury"— Clash Music
Lazy Daisy
3 mentions
"Lazy Daisy suspends time entirely, Clerkin's unhurried vocals drifting over a hazy dub bassline"— The Skinny
Not a lot of bands continue to write songs about their local scene... but on “Slow Island,” Clerkin... find room in their heart to ache
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Lake Walk
Lazy Daisy
Ups & Downs
Silently
There Was A Nice Sunset
Somewhere Good
Slow Island
Movin’ On
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 6 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
In a voice that revels in texture and mood, Tara Clerkin Trio deliver on Somewhere Good with standout moments like “Ups & Downs” and “Lazy Daisy” that show why fans ask about the best songs on Somewhere Good. The record is arty and dubby, piling glitchy electronics and folky guitar into songs that feel both meditative and invigorating, and “Ups & Downs” in particular blossoms from late-night dub jazz into a terrifying, thrilling crescendo. The tenderness of “Lazy Daisy” - a dubbed ballad with crooning vocals and bubbling bass - serves as the album's sunlit oasis amid darker tracks, making it one of the best tracks on Somewhere Good.
Key Points
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The best song, “Ups & Downs”, is praised for its dramatic build and operatic, eerie crescendo.
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The album's core strength is its textured, atmospheric blend of trip hop elements with folk, jazz, and glitchy electronics.
Themes
Critic's Take
On Somewhere Good Tara Clerkin Trio revel in a quietly inventive trip-pop that prizes restraint and textures, and the best tracks - the slyly surprising “Ups & Downs” and the joyous “Movin’ On” - showcase that balance perfectly. The record’s pleasures come from long, unspooling arrangements where hooks arrive late and electronics blur with live instruments, so the best songs on Somewhere Good often reward patience rather than instant gratification. Hear how “Ups & Downs” slips from piano ambience into an uncanny sample flourish, and how “Movin’ On” lets loose with dubby double-time abandon, both doing the heavy lifting of the album’s uncanny charm.
Key Points
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“Movin’ On” is the album’s most exciting moment for its playful dub energy and inventive sampling.
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The album’s core strength is restrained, textured production that lets long-form arrangements reveal surprises gradually.
Themes
Critic's Take
Tara Clerkin Trio sound like they inhabit their own Venn diagram on Somewhere Good, and the best songs keep doing double duty as mood and miniature worlds. Opener “Lake Walk” oozes out of an alternative dimension and sets the tone, while “Lazy Daisy” is the psych-speckled summer ode you keep returning to. The title track “Somewhere Good” feels like a surreal late 60s Canterbury reverie, and the finale “Movin’ On” closes with dubby excursions that send you off into infinity. These are the best tracks on Somewhere Good because they crystallise the record's hush-and-swell logic, the hypnotic repetition that makes it reveal itself over many listens.
Key Points
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The title track “Somewhere Good” stands out for its arresting, surreal quality that crystallises the album's identity.
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The album's core strengths are its singular sonic identity, hypnotic repetition, and seamless blending of jazz, dub and psych-pop elements.
Themes
Critic's Take
Tara Clerkin Trio make an album that refracts memory into something eerily new on Somewhere Good, and the best songs prove the point. The opener “Lake Walk” feels like pressing start on a half-remembered videogame, its Space Echo and clarinet sketching a dreamscape that hooks you immediately. “Lazy Daisy” suspends time with unhurried vocals and a hazy dub bassline, making it one of the best tracks on Somewhere Good for its lullaby-daydream chorus. The title track “Somewhere Good” is the emotional centre, looping piano and vibraphone turning hypnotic and cementing its place among the album's top moments.
Key Points
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The best song, "Lake Walk", hooks the listener with an 8-bit, dreamlike opening that defines the album's tone.
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The album's strengths are its dreamlike soundscapes, blending jazz-folk, avant-pop and trip-hop into a nostalgic but fresh voice.
