Hannah Clark will be tough Foe for chart rivals

IF you want to get a head start on the competition, then putting out your debut album in January - the quietest time for the music industry - is a shrewd move.

As such, 21-year-old songstress Hannah Clark, aka Foe, looks set to win some new friends when debut album Bad Dream Hotline hits the shops on Monday.

She has been described as a cross between PJ Harvey and Peaches, and her Foe pseudonym was created to overcome her shyness. “It’s quite scary to have the album coming out,” says Clark, adding that she’s “not much of a people person” and is happiest writing music in her bedroom.

“But at the same time I’m excited to be able to go out and see it in a shop.”

Clark signed to Mercury Records, but says the label didn’t make her compromise her music or her way of working. “I didn’t change my methods. I did everything in my room before and when we recorded we literally moved our bedroom set-up into a bigger studio.

“I’ve had to make very few compromises,” she adds. “The label seem to be happy with how I’m doing things and they didn’t really want to change it.”

So how would she describe her album? “My songs are quite personal, but some of the music is quite intense; grungy but also poppy. A good melody is important.

“It’s a combination of my influences - Nirvana, PJ Harvey and Sonic Youth - but I’ve always had the idea of writing a melodic song that people can follow. Hopefully it’s a mix of the two.”

Foe, Electric Circus, Market Street, Thursday 19, 7pm, £7, 0131-226 4224