Record Review: The Clutters

by | Jun 1, 2011 | Reviews

The Clutters
Breaking Bones
Nashville, TN

“Grungy but pretty”

If you’re one of those people who’s constantly looking for a garage-rock band with crazy power chords, octave pedals, rugged vocals and a consistent underground-blues-like sound similar to The Hives and The White Stripes, then you don’t have a choice to consider The Clutters or not, you kind of have to.

Breaking Bones is a heavy 12 track LP that is both clean and filthy. Songs like “Finer Things” and “Run” are solid as shit and feature a fast paced party vibe. You know, that “I gotta get in my dad’s muscle car and gun it” kind of feel. The vocals are prominent, but it doesn’t mean that they’re so in your face that you get annoyed or can’t listen for long, especially if you’re on an amphetamine binge; it won’t get old. All the songs are similarly structured, mostly with a distorted guitar, sometimes a little keyboard tickling around in the back, but always with a crazy organ somewhere in the mix, not to mention the needed guitar bends here and there.

The blues-iest song on the album is definitely “There Is No We In I.” This track in particular, because of the female vocals and off-kilter attitude, will push a Pixies button for most, but is in no way detrimental to the album’s essence. As far as mood and theme are concerned, this is an emotionally successful record, recommended for anyone who is down to get pretty and grungy. Or pretty grungy. (Chicken Ranch Records)

Produced by Doug Lehmann // Recorded and mixed by Joe Costa // Assisted by Bridget Guise in December at Welcome to 1979 Studios

www.theclutters.com