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The Death of C. Clement Barnes is an interesting addition to Leslie Keffer’s modest Action Claw discography. The X Bolex, otherwise referred to as Nate Scheible, creates a production that’s part radio drama, part pop record, a miniature musical biopic in 3” cdr form. Our friend C. Clement, it seems, is handcuffed by philosophical questions and rendered stationary by an everyday ennui. As the disc is less than thirteen minutes long, I’ll avoid revealing much of its plot, but suffice it to say, Mr. Barnes does, in fact meet his end. Scheible’s dialogue is solid, though the delivery by his actors often renders the words a bit flatter than I’d guess they were intended. Luckily, Scehible’s musical compositions compliment the story quite well, and quickly become the cdr’s best sections. Whether he’s constructing pop tunes as narration or background sounds to enrich emotion, Scheible’s simple style generates music that elicits enjoyment without obscuring his tale. It would be interesting to hear Scheible work in this format on a longer piece, to see how he could sustain both the flow of dialogue and development of story, but here, in an admittedly small sample, Scheible does well.

The X Bolex at Amazon & Insound