Search - Clinic :: Walking With Thee

Just what is this?

indierockjunkie | Madison, WI | 06/01/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"They sound like a mix of Velvet Underground and Frank Zappa's "Freak Out". Clinic has one of the most original sounds going today- by far. There's no middle ground here, you will either love or hate this album. I just happen to fall into the former."

Fill yourself with dreams

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 11/29/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Clinic's "Walking With Thee" is that pretty, intimidating kid down the street -- entrancing, yet somehow dangerous to touch. It sounds pretty, until the creepier notes kick in. While they have a few classic rock bands fueling their sound, the eerie electronic pop sound is entirely their own.



It opens with the darkly naive note of "Harmony," a sweet pop tune that is grounded by the occasional deep piano notes. But things take a different note with the rattly "Equaliser" and bassy, plodding "Welcome." A classic rock sound kicks in with "Pet Eunuch," which could've been a lost song from the 1960s.



But that is followed by the wavery keyboard of "Mr. Moonlight," a song that wouldn't seem out of place in a secluded corner of Radiohead's albums. That trend is continued by the blippy, dreamy "Come Into Our Room" and jazzy "Vulture," broken only by the lo-fi rock of "The Bridge." Think of it as Radiohead exorcising their inner Lou Reed.



Clinic seems to have taken every musical influence they enjoyed, thrown them together in a pot, and the result is "Walking With Thee." You can hear hints of Velvet Underground, Joy Division, maybe a dash of Modest Mouse, and some Radiohead -- and that's only a few. Surprising, the songs mesh very well together.



The heart of the album seems to be punk riffs and chilly electronica. It starts off and ends on eerie, cold notes, more computerized than outright musical. That could have had them labelled a Radiohead wannabe. But they kick in almost instantly with the solid rock: The grubbier organic music is mostly guitar and some plodding bass, with hammering percussion taking center stage in the title song.



The vocals are high and thin. Not in a bad way, just merely a bit wispy; they stick to an ominous monotone throughout much of the album, only breaking into some drowned-out yelps in "Pet Eunuch." He's a lot better when he's being miserable: "And I believed in solitude/I believed too little was few/Free for all your happiness/and no ones living on their wits."



Clinic's second album is a bit like an snow-covered beach -- it's gritty and chilly, but still very beautiful. "Walking With Thee" is certainly worth walking with."

Pretty good but....

Alveoli | Miami, FL | 05/13/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I like the whiny sound, so this is great and dark and wonderful....but is it just me or are "harmony" and "come into our room" almost the exact same song? They are both great songs--but the SAME great song."