Some artists get great praise for doing something completely new. They
are seen as the “avant-garde”, out there exploring new musical territory.
More often, the rock’n’roll of today merely explores or re-explores old
phrases and formats. Just look at all the bands trying to be “The Beatles”
thirty odd years after.
Clinic seems to be a bit between the two. The work of this young Merseyside
band is very musically referenced but it still manages to bring some novelty
to that old rock’n’roll format!
Maybe this is a result of the bands obsession with 60s garage rock.
There is some sense in that: if you're gonna take after some musical trend,
you may as well make it one that was worth it.
In my humble opinion garage rock is an interesting starting block to
build upon. And that's just what this band, Clinic, do. They revisit some
of the garage phrases but they do so with a contemporary knowledge of music.
So there's a bit of everything in there: swirling garage organ, the heritage
of the alternative scene, a healthy dose of punk rock, a pinch of “new
wave” plus a bit of modern electronics and sampling as well (“Porno”, “Evil
Bill”).
The recordings are both nice and messy but possess an aesthete's attention
to the quality of the sound which is a very modern concern. The songs are
psychedelic with sometimes hypnotic effects of repetition: the drum beat
and rhythm is often the base of the song (all three of the band's single
covers representing drums). On many songs voice and instruments merge into
a uniform “wall of sound” achieved through echoing and sound layering.
This sound quality is one of the band's greatest achievements. For the
melodies, the band show themselves to have took in all the lessons of the
alternative scene. The vocals resemble those of alternative bands, and
they have the “alternative” knack for playing with the slightly off-key
and the disharmonic. This has the result of pointing out that the aim is
not to make perfect technical pieces but rather to give the whole a genuine,
sincere feel. What's important is the overall soundscape, the overall “vibe”
of the song.
Whatever the band choose to play, the overall sound is both hypnotic
and full. Whether it be the psychedelia of numbers like “I.P.C. subeditors
dictate our youth” or “Monkey on your back”, the punk quality of songs
like “D.P.” or the marvelous “D.T.” with stooge-like raw guitar work the
band's unique sound shines through. Whether it be the grungy psychedelia
and biting rock of “Cement Mixer” or the band's more bluesy songs, mixing
blues, alternative and “new wave gloom” (“Porno”, “Kimberley”, “Voot”)
the band manages to put across it's particular type of soundscape.
I paid 80 francs for the album at my local record store and for twenty
five minutes of music, that's a bit steep. In fact this "album" is the
compilation of the band's three singles to date: 9 songs, three from each
single. Still, you know what they say: “better to have 25 minutes of great
rock than 75 minutes of crap” and Clinic is great rock’n’roll.