Clinic: Internal Wrangler : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Of the few intelligible lyrics on this peculiar Liverpudlian quartet's debut album, one phrase sticks out: "Free of distortions." That's a joke; distortions are Clinic's principal business. By twisting the features of various stylistic forefathers - the Velvet Underground, early Pink Floyd, Can, Wire - they've created a new hybrid of bratty garage rock and whimsical sonic experimentation that delights in its own mutant energy. The opening "Voodoo Wop" sets the tone, as rolling surf, bongos and fuzzed-out melodica collide over a lopsided beat, forcing a sudden tempo slowdown. Like several other selections on Internal Wrangler, it clocks in at under two minutes, more a shard than a song. Lead slurrer Ade Blackburn's high, awkward voice doesn't seem to have evolved past puberty, but that doesn't matter much when he's delivering the urgent choruses of "The Second Line" and "T.K." They'd be prime singalong material if anyone could figure out the words. Make up your own, I say.

MAC RANDALL
(RS 875 - August 16, 2001)