Clinic, Walking With Thee (Domino) 9+
When Clinic's 2000 debut Internal Wrangler was released to critical acclaim in the UK, their perceived freshness had more to do with cultural amnesia than originality. Sure, compared to recent grandiose orchestral gestures and yodeling vocal gymnastics, the Liverpool band's garage-drone sound is definitely a fresh breeze, even if Th' Faith Healers already mastered the same spare, repetitive style a decade ago with 1992's Lido. The motorik Can-inspired rhythms set to thrashy sixties melodies and New Wave hooks is a great formula however, one that Clinic pulls off even better than Tom Cullinon's post-Faith Healers band, Quickspace. Even better, Clinic adds a twist of eerie Augustus Pablo dub melodica and the gritty post-punk electronics of Suicide and 154-era Wire. Walking With Thee, Clinic's sophomore album, is less raucous than the debut. The tempos are slowed down to a noir-ish menace that is more Wall Of Voodoo than The Fall. Gone also are the organ-heavy odes to "Sister Ray." Ade Blackburn's high register vocals are one of the band's unique strengths. A mix of Pixies-era Black Francis and Tahiti 80's Xavier Boyer, Blackburn sings with the world-weary cadence of Joy Division's Ian Curtis. "Harmony" uses a sample of Laurie Anderson's hypnotic "O Superman" for a similarly haunting effect. "The Equaliser" takes The Who's click-clacked "Magic Bus" percussion and dubs it inside out. The closer "For The Wars" shimmers in serene contrast. Yet somehow the album fails to surpass its predecessor. The forty minutes sneak by without any truly gripping, gut-wrenching moments, though "Pet Eunuch" manages to spurt some Surfer Rosa Pixy spunk. "Come Into Our Room" and "Sunlight Bathes Our Home" rely too much on recycled phrases and melodies from earlier songs. Clinic's sum has yet to outweigh its parts, but they're damn fine parts just the same. I'd put my money on Clinic to transcend its current songwriting kinks and become one of the future biggies.
