Amber
Label: Domino
Rated: NONE
WorkNameSort: Amber
For their third album, Brighton, England’s Clearlake continue to plumb hypnotic Krautrock rhythms, ethereal Brit keyboards, somber Icelandic buzzes and modestly explosive power pop. The title track emulates the snow-capped nothingness of Nico’s The Marble Index with its weightless viola-sawing, while “Good Clean Fun” humps and bumps like shoegazer pop on crystal meth. It’s not about the singer or the song in this extra-textured world of mood and ambience, but rather about environmental control, and this young, ambitious quartet consistently moderate the temperature in the room. Jason Pegg and Sam Hewitt merge their vocals into harmonies and hide them in swamps of reverb, often mixing themselves just underneath the wall of guitar and keyboards to conjure up memories of Ride and My Bloody Valentine at their most shimmering. A blessing and a curse, really, since over 12 tracks the luster fades and sleep sets in. But it’s a decent buzz while it lasts.
This article appears in Jan 11-17, 2006.