image courtesy of Cameron Carpenter

Single Review of The James Clark Institute: “Reluctantly in Love”

The James Clark Institute is a Canadian pop-rock group fronted by singer-songwriter James Clark. The band is comprised of Clark (lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica), Tom Gibson (electric lead guitars), Tim Gall (bass), Greg Condie (keyboards), and Dean Carl Glover (drums and harmony vocals).

James Clark; photo by Sean Ryan; photo courtesy of Cameron Carpenter

The band’s single “Reluctantly in Love” sports a great big, rockin’, power pop sound and catchy guitar groove the make it a fast favorite. The jangly guitars at the beginning of the song call to mind first The Cars, then Green Day, and when the song eventually reaches its chorus, I can’t help but think of Counting Crows’ “Accidentally in Love.” The whole song is a smorgasbord of favorite sounds, comfort food for the ears. Buzzy guitars, an organ solo, ’50s-style old-school rock hooks. All wrapped in a catchy package with a singalong chorus. And then it delivers a hard-stop end, something you typically heard at least once on a record in albums’ heyday, varying of course by bands’ preferences.

Bottom line: Listen to this song. It has very broad appeal and is likely to become a regular on your personal playlist. for a while once you’ve heard it.

Also, notably, “Reluctantly in Love” was released just in time for Valentine’s Day earlier this year. So if you’ve not heard it yet, you have some new music for Valentine’s Day 2027, right? But maybe first make sure your valentine is OK with the inclusion of the word “reluctantly” in the sentiment.

More Recently

Since “Reluctantly in Love” came out, The James Clark Institute has released another song, “A Donkey,” as part of a split single with Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin, where each band performs a song written by the other. “A Donkey,” then, was penned by Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin, who performed the James Clark Institute-penned “Bettie Page Rides A Donkey.”