Visitations is not your average 'party album'
Published Jan. 26, 2007
Liverpool-based post-punk quartet Clinic refers to its intricate, trippy fourth studio album, Visitations, as a "party album." This claim intrigued me, especially because the album tops out at a scant 32 minutes and 32 seconds, leaving not a whole lot of time for one to get one's groove on. And while we can only imagine the kind of party that this album would be the perfect soundtrack for, we assume it would resemble something like this:
Time elapsed: 0:00
Track: "Family," a jarring, distorted album opener
The hosts are at the ready with the sound system cranked, guitars blaring, and lead singer Ade Blackburn's trademark combination of slurs and sneers already immersed in the mix. The first wave of guests — mostly members of the hipster elite — immediately dance to the stomping, pulsing beat. Everyone is intrigued, excited and ready to get the night underway.
Time elapsed: 5:31
Track: "Gideon"
Guests with far more diverse personas, dressed in everything from cowboy gear to Hare Krishna robes, file in, swaggering and swaying to the spiraling, orchestral backdrop of the track.
Their haunting "oh-oh-oh" chant, blending eerie mysticism with the catchiness of the theme song from an old John Wayne movie, perfectly complements guitarist Hartley's ponderous, fuzzy riffs. There is a feeling of tension that overcomes the room, of the sense that too much is going on at once, like a Western showdown about to take place.
Time elapsed: 8:45
Track: "Harvest (Within You)," the album's first U.K.
The funky, tribal beats and scratchy guitars create a mood that is creepy at times but also fun and exotic. The guests begin shaking their groove things, and the festivities reach their peak as the band channels the sound it is most well known for. Blackburn even sounds more confident behind wispy falsetto vocals and creepy synth riffs. The sense of mystery and intrigue starts to impact the guests, who begin to pair off as they dance.
Time elapsed: 12:07
Track: "Tusk"
A group of unruly, whiskey-addled punks kick the door down and enter the party howling over a flurry of garage-punk guitars and fierce drumbeats. The crowd kicks and flails to the beat, trashes the place, pays little mind to Blackburn's shouts and snarls and never stops to hear the Middle Eastern-tinged guitar breaks that pepper the middle of the song. The frenzy lasts less than two minutes in all, but everyone feels the chaos. The punks leave almost as quick as they came.
Time elapsed: 26:32
Track: "The New Seeker"
Blackburn and the other band members are immersed in the chaos happening around them, a haunting acid freak-out that sends guests into a dancing frenzy. There is an urgency, an almost anger in his voice that we have not heard before over the track's many odd blips and whirls and Hartley's molasses-heavy mod guitar. There is a sudden urge for things to wind down.
Although only a select few tracks on Visitations ("Tusk," "Family") are true dance party material, the album's eclectic instrumentation is a celebration for the ears. It is a party of sounds: different tones and instruments congregate, revel briefly in each other's company and leave almost as quickly as they came. Eerie a cappella harmonies fraternize with funk guitars straight out of the theme from "Shaft" on "Animal/Human," and Iron & Wine-style folk meets post-punk on "Jigsaw Man."
Visitations is definitely not a "party album" in the traditional sense but rather an opportunity for receptive ears to have new sonic experiences and despite being overwhelmed at times, leave satisfied.