"For Clarke, FOE represents a meeting of noisy alt sounds and more refined, pop song structures. Her Tumblr is a mixed paean to twisted rockers such as Kurt Cobain, Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor, and artists on the wholesome, clean-cut end of the pop spectrum. Though her Genie In A Coke Can EP may have given the impression she was parodying pop, she confesses a deep respect for it. “I think people got the wrong idea with Genie In A Coke Can; I think they thought I was attacking pop, which wasn't the case. I love artists like Celine Dion, and big power-pop ballads; I think a lot of people do, but it’s not cool to admit it"-
I talked to Hannah Louise Clarke, aka FOE, for this month's issue of Tour Times (the one with Grinder Man on the front), on pop, dressing-up, lost friends, playground torment, and how her old band Arthur almost opened for Queen Adreena one time. She also talked about how she'd like PJ-style longevity, which made me marvel, for the zillionth time, at how a woman who has had such a problematic public relationship to non-allegiances with feminism continues to be the ultimate pinnacle icon for young (predominantly white/indy-leaning) female songwriters.
