CLOCK
COMES DOWN THE STAIRS
(LP)
ALTERNATIVE REVIEWS
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CLOCK
COMES DOWN THE STAIRS |
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is a place on the site for alternative reviews, which with a bit of luck
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This
review was written by Jeff Whiteaker. Many other reviews of his (composed
while whiling away his time in a 'dead-end job') can be found on the Amazon
website under the name of 'Thoutah'. The sound is lighter and more studio sterile on "Clock," despite the fact that they used a HUMAN drummer. The arrangements are actually a bit more orchestral in scope when compared with previous efforts. Still, the finely wrought tunes continue the seductive, paradoxical combination of extremes; Sean O'Hagan's beautiful, deft country-picking Jimmy Webb-inspired guitar melodies, and singer Cathal Coughlan's ironic, caustic, acid-tongued vocals/lyrics, joining to form a unique poetic vision. The West Coast Beach Boys influences are more prevalent here, especially with the bouncy beats and rich organ on "Genius," "Horse Overboard'" and the haunting ballad "And." Even though the production doesn't focus quite as much on Sean's guitar, the songs are still first rate, infectiously catchy, pop masterpieces. Just try getting "Genius" or "Birthday Girl" out of your head after you've heard 'em a few times. And how you can beat a chorus like "You're a genius, you're a giant, you're a prince, you are the Pope, the things you feel are just a joke, so burn, burn, burn!" (from "Genius".) The lush "Goodbye it's 1987" and the country-ish "A Friend with a Big Mouth" offer similar sentiments, all delivered in Cathal's gut-wrenching, Irish brogue. This music is not for the faint-hearted. Sophisticated,
poetic, heavily ironic, and gorgeously melodic; please stop ignoring this
wonderful band. The arduous and time-consuming search you'll have to conduct
to find any of their albums will be well worth the effort. |