Album Reviews

Clipd Beaks: Hoarse Lords

Clipd Beaks

Hoarse Lords

(Lovepump United)

It’s not often that the cacophony of everyday ecstasies, neuroses and anxieties is accurately captured in music with the precision and innovation as Clipd Beak’s debut album Hoarse Lords. Located somewhere at the intersection of the Krautrock experimentalists Can and noisy nineties outfit Jesus Lizard, Clipd Beaks’ is anchored by the tightly linked rhythm section helmed by the ballsy bass playing of Scott Ecklein and rolling tribal smashing of drummer Ray Benjamin. On “Manipulator,” the meandering vintage synthesizer lines and wandering guitar manipulation by Greg Prichard slip texture into the unceasing raucous beats while the Nic Barbein’s heavily distorted vocals—mostly unintelligible, frantic, and wailing—feel more like machine than man. The raw recording style places the listener into the center of one of their maelstrom jam sessions, or into their tumultuous shows in the back-alley bars where artcore bands usually find their home. Hoarse Lords may not be for the faint of heart, but it’s an integral experience for those cosmonauts of the mind seeking brain expansion in a psychedelic rockout.

—Drew Tewksbury

(Flaunt Magazine 2007)

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© 2007 Drew Tewksbury: Multimedia Journalist.