LOS ANGELES, CA- Ella Clayton’s Could It Be You? is her second studio album. She moves comfortably between folk, soul, and rock, never forcing the genre shifts across the tracklist. Her voice is the anchor, warm and assured, capable of handling intimacy and grit with equal skill. This record shows a lot of growth and range. Her direction on it is clear and it left me eagerly hoping for more music soon.
Clayton is an East London singer-songwriter who released her debut album Murmurations in 2022, a deeply personal collection that established her as a rising voice in the UK’s indie-folk scene. She followed that up in 2023 with Stairwell, a stripped-back acoustic EP recorded in a three-story stairwell that captured the raw intimacy of her live sound. Her work has earned critical acclaim from outlets like The Independent and Rough Trade, and her song “Only Bodies” was featured in the BAFTA-winning film Sweetheart as well as Netflix’s Dead Man’s Phone. She has headlined venues across London and played festivals including Latitude, where she performed on a stage personally curated by George Ezra. With Could It Be You?, Clayton steps into a fuller, more ambitious sound while maintaining the honesty that’s defined her work from the start.
For this record, Clayton worked with producer Lester Duval at George Ezra’s Hotel Quebec studio, tracking rhythm sections live over three days to capture the feeling of musicians playing together in the same room. It’s an approach that pays off throughout the album. There’s a looseness to the performances that feels organic rather than overthought, and the space between instruments allows each element to register clearly without fighting for attention. Clayton wanted the record to “feel like a warm hug,” and that live tracking process gives the songs a physical presence. At times, you can hear the players responding to each other in real time, adjusting and breathing together.
As Clayton describes it, the record is “a journey through longing and self-interrogation, the search for something or someone outside of myself to tell me who I am and what I want.” It’s a vulnerable framework, and she commits to it fully. Lyrically, Clayton is exploring that longing and self-interrogation with real poise. The title track, “Could It Be You?”, is quiet and observant, bridging mundane moments into emotionally devastating memories. “Rain All Day” carries a hymn-like quality; the mellow harmonies give the song a tenderness that is almost physical.
The album opens with “Please Me,” her voice warmly welcoming us into the genre-blending record. Immediately after the soul-filled introduction, “Mouth Said Money” piques your interest with a grungier rock style melody. It’s an early signal of what becomes a defining pattern across the record: a refusal to settle into a singular style. Clayton loves a good intro, something alluring and unexpected, and then she pivots. Sometimes it works beautifully. Other times, it leaves you wishing she’d stayed put.
“Dolomites” is a perfect example. The opening is stunning, slow and seductive, with a really deep guitar strumming that pulls you into the dangerous, intimate setting she is drawing. Suddenly, the track picks up speed, morphing into a more straightforward rock arrangement. That change up is often a nice twist to keep the structure interesting. For me, the introduction, that bluesy, jazz-inflected opening, deserved a full track of its own. The same thing happens on “Seagull Song,” where the fingerpicked guitar sets a delicate, introspective tone before the song broadens out. Clayton clearly has the range to commit fully to those darker, moodier spaces, and it’s hard not to hope she leans into them more on future releases.
That said, when Clayton does commit to a sound and lets it breathe, the results are stunning. “October Trip” leans into a western twang that adds real character to her folk sensibility, and “Ripples” builds beautifully, layering strings and percussion that vibrates your soul in such an emotionally raw way. “Mouth Said Money,” for its subtle grungy roughness, fits here because it’s honest to the sound it draws inspiration from. A bit direct and a little messy; just as a grungy folk song should be.
Clayton moves between genres with ease, and her voice has the depth and soul to anchor whatever direction she chooses. Personally, I’m hoping she commits to the darker, jazzier impulses that she hints at. But for now, Could It Be You? is one of my favorite modern folk releases.
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Ella Clayton’s “Could It Be You?” Blends Folk, Soul, and Rock Into a Stirring Modern Folk Statement
