Clinic – Do It!
Straight out of Liverpool come Clinic, with a sound that binds indie-pop with a more experimental style. It is impossible not to like Clinic because although their style has been somewhat drowned in the current British indie-pop fad they manage to stay unique and separate from all that. For one thing their style still seems quite lo-fi in comparison to a lot of other bands on the British indie scene. What I find most interesting is how they manage to be so experimentally intriguing, most notably in their preferred on-stage attire, and yet retain that British indie-pop audience. I think it shows how a band can be experimental without every song having to stretch past the six minute mark.
This is the first album by Clinic that I have given a fully deserved listen and am not at all disappointed. Songs that stick out immediately are The Witch (Made To Measure) and Shopping Bag. Two songs that show how Clinic’s style can move from indie-pop to experimental, respectively, and making the transaction so smooth and almost unnoticeable. For some songs you feel like you’re listening to a real Brit-pop anthem and then suddenly you’re really paying attention to the use of instrumental experimentation with the likes of Clarinets and Flutes that really give the album that extra something.
I think it is extremely fitting that they are on a record label that is so broad and eclectic as Domino. Clinic’s record label counterparts include, most notably, artists such as Animal Collective, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Steven Malkmus. Although there are only a few British bands on the label (that I know of) Clinic definitely stand out as one of the best. Lets hope that no one groups them in with Arctic Monkeys, who are also on Domino, and fob them off as another Brit-pop clone, because Clinic are brilliant and really deserve a listen.