I must confess, I hadn’t really heard much from Clogs prior to this album, despite the fact that they’ve had three prior releases. In case you too are unfamiliar with the band, here’s Clogs (for the remainder of the review I can tell I will have to resist the temptation to throw a “The” in front of the name, although I suppose that would give the impression that they were a me-too indie rock band) in a nutshell: they’re a four-piece that makes music best described as freeform classical, like a jam band but with a string section and a few woodwinds here and there. A typical song introduces a loop of melody and explores it for the next few minutes, often coming to a jarring halt at the end (on some songs such as “Canon” and “5/4″, this bothered me; it was like being harshly woken up from a dream I had only recently begun to explore).
The members of the Clogs have quite the pedigree, not the least of which is training at the Yale School of Music, and it shows through and through. Each and every instrument is deftly wielded, and many of the songs, while clearly free-form, are filled with rich textures and hooks that could easily compete with carefully-written songs from other bands. Moods are clearly communicated throughout most of the album, such as the tension-laden “Compass” and the precipitous “5/4″. These songs evoke feelings and even visions in the listener without being pretentious or forceful.
As with many bands predicated on the notion of improvisation and jam sessions, there are occasions where it all gets to be a bit much, though thankfully Clogs keeps these to a minimum. Halfway through the title track, I found my mind wandering simply because the song had stopped offering any new worthwhile ideas. Similarly, a feeling of homogeny pervades the album ever so slightly at certain points; arriving at “Filddlegree”, a bit over three quarters of the way through the disc, I felt a bit of deja vu. Hadn’t I heard this particular loop before? How close was the album to being done, anyway?
Paradoxically, when the band does try to branch off from the sound established on the majority of the tracks, the results are mixed. “2:3:5″ attempts to introduce a Caribbean flavor with some steel drums, but it feels tacked on and unfaithful to the song. “Tides”, however, a piano-only track, is a welcome diversion that simultaneously fits right in. It would have been more useful as something other than the final song.
Still, moments of monotony or boredom don’t come often on Lantern, and when it’s over, you’ll likely remember it positively, as an atmospheric piece of work performed quite well. Listening to it the whole way through gives one the feeling of having seen a diverse, adventurous film, without actually having seen anything at all.
8/10
4 Comments »
Hey now, being a soundtrack doesn’t predicate a lower score! Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Superman…and those are just one composer.
I almost reviewed the new Good Charlotte. In light of your comment maybe I should have.
i love how everyone keeps threatening to review good charlotte - i want to read a superstarcastic review of that so bad.
also, i have decided that the word “clogs” is going on my list of hated words, btw.
I agree. I almost knocked the review down a point because of their band name alone. It’s kind of like Hoobastank, only they suck anyway so it’s not a big deal.
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Comment by Mickey — April 3, 2007 @ 3:53 pm
I can see 8 out of 10 for this maybe but 9 out of 10 seems high for a soundtrack. Are you one of those people who likes everything?