CLONE
CL 1
(Little Cloud Records / 5BC Records)
"Comparisons are odorous" as Shakespeare punned in "Much ado about Nothing". Natch, reading a press release comparing the first album by Brooklyn post punk outfit Clone to the likes of U2 and the Cure, certainly doesn't conjure up the sweet scents its writer appears to have intended.
The good news is that "CL 1" doesn't especially resemble either. Nor does it in any way resemble either The Clash or Gang of Four - two of the other reference points suggested. "Post Punk" though, it certainly is, with all ten numbers drawing heavily on that furiously creative maelstrom of the late 70s / early 80s with a few later top notes thrown in.
Fans of the genre will catch whiffs of Joy Division, New order, Wire, Modern English, early Psychedelic Furs maybe. Not to mention fragrant strains of Wah's classic album "Nah Poo: The Art of bluff", spiced up with more than a hint of My Bloody Valentine - not least on the single, Immutable.
And ok, yes an occasional waft of the Cure's overlooked 3rd album, Faith.
Throbbing bass, ringing guitars, atmospheric keyboard washes, semi audible lyrics and dense, layered production tick all the right post punk boxes - not surprising perhaps given that producer Martin Bisi has worked with the likes of Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, Sonic Youth, Swans and even Herbie Hancock.
The one stinker in the mix is the vocal delivery of singer LG Galleon, which rarely strays beyond a somewhat monotonous yell. All of which is very well, if your aim was simply to pastiche your influences.
Listenable it certainly is, albeit at the expense of any obvious sense of trajectory. Having crammed so much homage into a first album, where do you go next ?
