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Photo by Riley Nalatova

A little whimsy goes a long way, I’m sure you know it as well as I do, but nobody knows it better than Fiona from Whisper Doll. When she moved out of an East Village room that couldn’t fit a twin mattress, she traded it for a sunny Brooklyn house and adopted a bodega cat named Lucky. The result is Lucky Clover, a record of woozy guitars, glittering synths, and gauzy vocals, with just enough emotional weight to keep it grounded throughout all the whimsy. We caught up with Fiona following the release of the album, which is out now via Take Care Records, to talk cultivating whimsy, her favorite influences, and all things Lucky the cat: 

OnesToWatch: You’ve said Lucky Clover came from a time when you were actively trying to cultivate whimsy, what did that look like in your day to day? 

Whisper Doll: It was about noticing the little things around me, like feeling the sun on my skin and letting it soak in. I was really enamored with the little cracks in the sidewalk with flowers growing through them, and with just little things in nature. I had vines growing over my window. I was trying to notice beautiful things that can be rare in a concrete jungle, be really happy about them, and let all of those happy moments add up throughout the day.

You went from an East Village room that couldn’t fit a twin mattress to a sunny Brooklyn house during the making of this record. How do you think the new space changed the way you write? 

It definitely opened up my world. I was super insular in that room. I was able to decorate it and make it my own little space, but I could hardly walk around in it. It was a typical East Village closet room. It was fun to live there, and I could live cheaply because of it. Then I moved to South Brooklyn, where there were trees, and I had a big room in a house with a bunch of other artists. It gave me more creative space and physical space, and it made my mind feel more open and less compact and stressed. I’d walk out of the house and there wouldn’t be a million people on the sidewalk, just one neighbor.

Now perhaps this might be my favorite question I’m going to ask, tell us about Lucky. How does a bodega cat become the face of an album? 

He’s actually right here! He’s my first cat, the first pet I ever owned. I’ve fostered a ton of cats from liquor stores and bodegas, so it’s not the first time a store has given me their cat, but I felt a really special connection with him. I work really late nights and would come home at two, three, four in the morning, and this bodega was open 24 hours. I always stopped in to see if he’d be there. He’s super friendly and lovable, and he’d come up, brush against your leg, and want to be pet. He was dirty and frail and small, and I’d leave the bodega, turn around, and he’d be watching me go. It got to the point where I was heartbroken leaving him there. A year ago this week, right around my birthday, I joked with the staff that he’d be a great birthday present, and they just gave him to me. I took him home and gave him a little bath (he eventually cleaned himself up), and he started eating again and eating healthy. He became a really nice companion. He was always there while I was writing, sitting near me on my bed while I played guitar late at night. It felt really comforting, so it felt natural to have him be part of the imagery of the record.

If you could describe Lucky Clover in three words, what would you say? 

Airy, floaty, and grounded. I don’t want to say “whimsical” because it’s such an overused word. At times the record is maybe more dense and compact, so grounded feels right.

When listening to Lucky Clover, the influences of The Sundays, Mazzy Star, and The Cranberries really shine through. What’s the first song of theirs that made you want to make music?

I can’t remember a specific song. “Summertime” was probably the first one I found by The Sundays, and their music is constantly playing in my head. I probably found Mazzy Star first, with “Fade Into You,” and then dove deeper into the record and the rest of her music. I really grabbed onto how mysterious and cohesive her visual world was. Finding her opened up my world, and then I found The Sundays and The Cranberries. I loved how prominent, expressive, and magical the vocals were. I grew up in the South listening to rock and country, and there weren’t a lot of female vocals that made me think, “That sounds so cool, and it’s something I want to do.” Mazzy Star is mysterious, hazy, and beautiful. The Sundays are an explosion of melodies. The Cranberries just wail and are so rock and roll. I can’t say which I found first, but grabbing onto all of them was a magical experience.

Imagine shopping through a Yankee Candle or maybe a Hallmark, if you could pick one item in a store like that to reflect the vibe of Lucky Clover, what would you pick? 

My first record, Perfume Garden, felt earthy, like I was writing about the earth. This one feels airy, light, and floaty, like I’m writing about the air. So it would smell like clean air, wet grass, and a little bit of tea. Maya, from the band, is a tea specialist (it’s her day job), and she made a special bluebells tea for us. It had some blueberry and lavender in it, and we sold out of it on our recent tour. She’s going to make more. So yes, airy, floaty, soft scents, with a little bit of tea.

While you were making this record, was there a song that came out almost fully formed, and one that fought you the whole way? 

“Bluebells” came out immediately. I wrote the melody and the acoustic guitar part, and it stayed pretty much the same. Oscar, who I was working with, and I made a demo that practically stayed the same from the day we made it. That was really cool and inspiring. The song that fought me was “Bloody Knees.” I write everything on acoustic first before bringing it to the band or to Oscar, and with that one I had a sound in my head that was really challenging to put into the space it needed to be in. It wasn’t clicking for a long time. The vocals didn’t sound how I wanted, and the production and instruments took forever. I think it finally clicked, but with that song and a couple of others, I think they might never be quite there, so maybe you just have to let go.

What’s something you hope someone notices about Lucky Clover on the second or third listen that they might have missed the first time? 

There are a lot of harmonies and vocal layers that might not come out on the first listen. As a singer, that’s fun for me.

What’s inspiring you most right now? Not just music related, but in life. 

Since the record just came out, I’ve been laying low for a second. We just got off tour a couple of days ago. I’m about to start actively looking for inspiration, but I’ve been listening to a ton of local bands and watching a lot of live shows, which is always inspiring. I have a feeling the active search will start after the record settles.

Now I totally borrowed this last question from my incredible writer and editor Giselle, but I love it so much I have to ask it. Who are your ones to watch right now? 

I just saw Wishy live the other day, and they were great. I’ve been really digging [Operelly]’s music lately, and I’m seeing them in the next couple of days. I also have to shout out the other artists on our label: Trinkets is releasing a song next week, Kirst is a fabulous singer-songwriter who’s joining the label, and Truman Flyer just released a CD on the label, which I helped design the packaging for because I love design stuff. Star Cleaner Reunion’s record came out a week before ours, and it’s awesome. Those are my ones to watch off the top of my head, but there are a lot of great bands.

Listen to Lucky Clover below: