Some bands tow along fury. Clairmel is one of them. It’s an unplaceable element, but it drives the songs harder, more true, more directly while establishing new ground musically. Think of a tornado, then the tenderness of the Red Cross. And when they establish a rhythm, they take it down winding, interesting audio roads, which serves the listener from becoming bored or yelling, “Ah ha, you boner. You ripped off ____________ (fill in the blank)” at the turntable. Clairmel’s also one of those bands that are really fucking cool musically, then you read the lyrics, and it gets all the better. (i.e. “I never thought I’d be crawling just to walk on the other knee”). They’re in the same dugout as Tim Version, The Arrivals, Spontaneous Disgust, and Hot Water Music (with whom they shared a split 8”). Honestly delivered vocals, tight and bombastic instruments, emotionally charged, and soaring. Thumbs up. Cease: chonka chonka, pause, pause, growl. It’s silliness by some dudes that play way too much Dungeons and Dragons and rearrange Slayer lyrics like those poetry refrigerator magnets. Lots of screaming about doom and abysses and stuff. I yell, “Ah ha, you boner.” I rip it off the turntable.
–todd (Attention Deficit Disorder)