On paper, a Juilliard-trained cellist opening for My Chemical Romance might look like a curveball. In reality, it makes perfect sense. Gerard Way first saw Clarice Jensen perform with Max Richter, was floored, and soon after invited her to join MCR on tour.
Jensen’s music doesn’t sit politely in the background, it pulls you into its orbit. Using a blend of looping and improvisation, she coaxes the cello into shapes that feel both precise and dreamlike: tactile sounds that unfold in real time, leaving behind ghostly afterimages. It’s part tradition, part experiment and entirely her own language.
Her latest single, ‘Unity’, grows out of a symmetrical four-chord motif. Around it, arpeggios dart and stretch, multiplying into patterns that suggest both connection and solitude.
“‘Unity’ depicts the multitudes - the evolving arpeggios - contained within a unified whole - the four-chord motif”, Jensen explains. “It examines the implications of one, or solo, or solitude and how oneness can imply both solitude and interconnectedness”.
That tension between structure and freedom, isolation and togetherness, has defined Jensen’s work across solo projects and collaborations alike - from Jóhann Jóhannsson to Philip Glass.
It’s also what makes her such a startlingly perfect fit for stages as varied as concert halls, art spaces and now MCR arenas.
Her fourth solo album ‘In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness’ is due 17 Oct.