Clinkerfield: Almost Famous

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Lyrically, the band has progressed further into the twilight of sophisticated adulthood compared with the more romantic, adolescent "Wrote your name on a toilet wall".

These guys slam out albums with gay abandon. One senses that ideas are bursting out faster than they can be fully realised (unless I have entirely missed the point and the band is promoting an aesthetic of nearly-thereness). The work is beautiful but neither really tight nor polished, and many of the backing vocals (from bassist Matt, another band member possessed of a beautiful and under-used voice) are somewhat thrown away. However, if you value creativity and complex passions above slick production (as I do) this is an album full of delicate marvels.

I don't mean to imply that they can't rock out. The albums lurches between the manic desperation of songs like To Lose My Head with its rolling riff and scarifying vocals, and the cool guitar entanglements of the ballad Easy Holes underneath Stewart's half-shattered voice slowly developing a Bono-like power.

The blemishes? The odd shaky guitar note that is more annoying than adventurous, some vocals thrown away with careless phrasing and pitching. Vocal arrangements especially can be a bit hit and miss, but otherwise, the sense is that of awesome powers not fully under control.

If you are someone who really listens to music, rather than using it as the wallpaper for your life, buy this album. I hope this band can sort out their chronic personnel problems and go on to the stunning maturity and sophistication of which we already have more than a glimpse.

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Connors scores

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Having said this, I cannot let the review pass without some comment on the lingering symptoms of "reviewerese" that unfortunately still taint what is essentially a good review.

"Welch delivered an intimate, slow-hand performance"
The expression "slow-hand" was used to describe ironically the technical facility of Eric Clapton's guitar playing. The meaning of the term was somewhat muddied by the subsequent release of a recording of the same name. The intended meaning here is unclear.

"Her narrative songs clutched at the heart and made the stomach flutter"
There may well be a medical treatment to alleviate these symptoms. Please refer to "Purple Prose" in previous media critiques.
 
"Rawlings is one of the most intuitive and inventive guitarists around"
Invention may well be inferred from the performance but to ascribe intuition as the major source of Rawlings' playing is to insult his intelligence and ignore his experience. (Intuition n. Immediate apprehension by the mind without reasoning...[Concise Oxford Dictionary]) How did you get inside his head?

"The way he sang in harmony with Welch's dulcet tones indicated the depth of their union."
Perhaps it indicated that they can sing in tune and phrase together. For all we know they might detest each other!
 
"Welch and Rawlings have a symbiotic bond and a connection to the spirit of country music that is a joy to behold."
So they play well together... maybe "behear" would be more to the point?

Keep up the good work Mr. Connors but go easy on the facile comments.

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