New Music: Clinic, Feathers, Precious Fathers

I have moved to the Logan Square neighborhood in Chicago and without the interweb for the moment, so my updates are a little delayed. I wrote the Clinic and Feathers review yesterday but neglected to upload the audio at work, so I will post the reviews but the mp3s are going to be missing for a few days. Hopefully Monday at the latest for them. On the bright side, I really like Logan Square with my cheaper, roomier apartment and Mexican restaurants on every corner.



mp3 to come later

Clinic – Harvest EP / Domino

Fueling the anticipation for their January 2007 full-length release, Liverpool art-rockers, Clinic, unleash a 3-song EP further deepening their sound into the hazy garage rock of the late 60s. Kicking off with the title track, Harvest (within you) is a rollicking blend of tribal drums, slurred vocals, minimal gritty guitar and eerie organ sweeps. Presenting a deceptively simple arrangement, the surgical-mask clad quartet is simultaneously catchy and brow-furrowing. You Can’t Hurt You Anymore is a retro instrumental centerpiece harkening back to breezy parties on the beach when Dick Dale was king and tomfoolery was always a foot. It strangely diminishes though into Lee Shan, which comes off as Can jamming with the Velvet Underground. Obtaining its goal, Harvest is a mysterious teaser that really gets you salivating for Clinic’s next unpredictable full-length.




Feathers - Ap(Parenthe)-Synthesis - Synchromy (Home Tapes 2006)


Feathers – Synchromy / Hometapes

Firstly, this Feathers is not to be mistaken with the recent freak-folk Devandra-heralded Feathers; this is a trio out of Miami formed in 2003 that makes experimental pop music… which actually came first and is the rightful Feathers is beyond me. But band names aside, Eddie Alonso, Matt Crum and Eric Rasco conjure a brand of poppy post-rock that is nearly impossible to nail down due to their penchant for unconventional equipment and numerous outside influences. Though based in Miami, the trio regularly travels to Chicago to record with the like-minded John McEntire at SOMA studios as with Synchromy, the second of their three EP trilogy (which started with Absolute Noon). Melodies dance out of analog synths, tinkered sounds bubble and hiss, a backbeat settles in and then evaporates in a sea of static wash… and that’s just in the first minute. Think of it as progressive psychedelia with SOMA being Abbey Road built on post-rock rather than pop-rock… how can you hate on that?




Precious Fathers - Prairie Train - Precious Fathers (White Whale 2005 Canada, 2006 USA)


Precious Fathers – Precious Fathers / White Whale

So to speak truthfully, quality melodic post-rock is not that rare these days, but for me at least, it’s one of the few genres that I really enjoy across the board. Fitting comfortably into this genre is Vancouver instrumental outfit, Precious Fathers, who incorporate shoegaze, math-rock, indie-rock and just touches of electronica and jazz into their sound. Featuring members of Destroyer, Loscil and Sparrow, the multi-functional quartet recorded this album in a few live settings in 2004, but it is just now reaching American ears riding on the back of Vancouver’s White Whale Records. Throughout the self-titled affair, pastoral fields of interweaving guitar, synth, bass, drums and occasional horns roll into gentle, coast-approaching waves as if mimicking the Pacific Ocean on a relatively calm autumn day. Think a midpoint between Tortoise and Six Parts Seven, neither incredibly technical nor pure melody, but a comfortable niche between the two. For Precious Fathers really to make a name for themselves though, they are going to need to really find their individual sound, perhaps pulling from their external projects a bit more.