Futurism vs. Passéism
Thus far, the '90s revival has resembled little more than a canny wardrobe choice for skinny hipsters; questionable outfits like Times New Viking and Wavves dressing up their two-minute, two-chord punk in all manner of lo-fi distortion. Sure, it's great to thumb one's stylistic nose at the ultra-clean digital new-millennium, and all, but it's hard not to think that this particular style-mongering finds the Emperor wearing no clothes.
Clues —the long-time-coming post-Unicorns outfit for Alden Penner, centered around he and one-time Arcade Fire drummer Brendan Reed— remind me of the '90s, but in a fashion that has nothing to do with hipster contrivance. Instead, it seems more a case of natural occurrence; Clues simply happening to favor compositions that, to me, seem more familiar from a past era.
On the quintet's self-titled debut set, the arrangements are typically dense, dark, and distorted, with layers of guitars creating a thick fug that listeners must pick through, discerning things from amidst this, for want of a better word, 'atmosphere.' There are times when they remind me of actual bands from the '90s —bristling with the restraint of late-period Fugazi, or sounding eerily like Blonde Redhead's Amadeo-Pace-fronted ghost-songs— but, moreso, it's a feeling. One I can't fight.
Repeat Play
Things aren't always distorted, of course. In the middle of the album, there's an astonishing burst of clarity. The back-to-back of "Perfect Fit" (a rollicking, pop-like tale lamenting lost Ukrainian heritage over nimble organ patterns) and "Elope" (essentially a hushed ballad sung, by Penner, in a forlorn not-quite-falsetto) serve like a break in the clouds, a moment of sunshine and light amidst an album of dark clouds and ferocious gusts.
More often, Clues are knee-deep in cuts like "Approach the Throne," an overdriven rock-song in which chugging riffs and trashcan-percussion create an audio soup so thick that, when brassy bombast and yelled group-vocals happily wade in the mix, you get the sense that your ears might drown.
For many records, this might be seen as a bad thing, or even be labeled 'bad production.' But for Clues, these densely-packed songworlds seem studied. Penner and co have consciously recorded their record like this, knowing that initial confusion will give way, over time, to a sense of understanding. This Clues record isn't one that's immediately gratifying, but one that rewards persistence and patience. Where current release schedules are clogged with immediately-pleasing, quickly-disposable blog-music, Clues have made an album that demands repeated listens. Which is probably its most '90s-like quality of all.
Record Label: Constellation
Release Date: 19 May 2009
