Alexandra Cardona-Morales is a Le Moyne Class of 2025 alumna who has been working in the Syracuse music scene since graduation. She shares her journey of creating her first album and how storytelling shaped this project.
Clove, the stage name of Alexandra Cardona-Morales, has always been influenced by music from an early age and in various parts of her life. “I’ve been singing since I was, like, seven or eight, honestly, because I just remember always singing, starting out really young in church, singing solos here and there.”
Her newest release is her debut album after everything, a concept album following the story of someone choosing to leave you. She spent seven months fully writing and producing the album alongside Stephen Phillips and Steve Brown at Syracuse Sound. “We kind of just clicked right away in the studio. And I think, along with pretty much everything in life, it doesn’t work unless you click with people and you have, like, studio chemistry, and we did right away.”
Alongside her song Size of My Jeans, this has been her favorite project because she knew people had similar experiences and wanted to depict that sense of loss. Clove knew what each song had to be to portray this story thoroughly.
The angry song on the album is the bigger person. “The song itself is basically imagery for what that internal tug of war feels like when you want to retaliate or scream angry things at them or insult them or whatever, but you also understand that the right path is being the bigger person.” This song has the most rock influence of her entire discography so far.
Easy is the sad song on the album, where she explores some of her most heartbreaking and darkest thoughts. Throughout the song, she grapples with questions like: Am I the problem? What makes it so easy to leave me? Why do people keep deciding to leave? The song relates to difficult conflicts where people have left for one reason or another.
At Le Moyne, Alexandra studied psychology, and although she did not pursue music extensively in college, her degree and desire to help people align with her songwriting. “We need people willing to help others through the very difficult times that we’re facing and all the difficulties that come with just being human.”
Clove’s album directly reflects what it means to be human and to experience the emotions that follow, whether joy, anger, or sadness. Her music can be found on all major streaming platforms under Clove. To stay up to date with her shows and events, follow her on Instagram at @clovemusic.
