Clown Down - Living Alone
(Sea Isle)
Strike one against Clown Down came as soon as I received this, because I got a call from housing saying I had a package waiting, and I was under the assumption it was something else that I'd been waiting for. Not so. So, I was a little annoyed that it wasn't what I'd been expecting, but I thought, I'll give this a listen, see what I think, and everything will be okay! But other things about Clown Down bothered me: first, the name. Clown Down? That's terrible! And it isn't like that's the only name they could have chosen. There are plenty better names out there. The album artwork, as well, really irked me. A girl in a big furry hood? Wow. Totally wow. I'm so incredibly impressed. So I was annoyed by this release at first, and when I got home I forgot about it while checking my email.
About an hour later I remembered that I'd picked up a package from housing that morning and that it was waiting in my coat pocket for me to put it on. So I though, "well, why not?" and put it into the stereo. And it was really good! Sounding an awful lot like Braid's Bob Nanna singing for Ganger or Mogwai, with impassioned vocals overtop of huge guitars, the sound was pretty good.
What bothered me about the album was that this sound didn't change. The singer doesn't have much vocal range, and the only time it really changes gears is on "The City Tonight," when he is accompanied by some really invigorating backup singing. The guitars sweep through everything all the time, except on the aforementioned "The City Tonight," where things are kept very much toned down. This is just an idle complaint though, because I really do like the music here. I think the only advice I'd offer the band is to try and keep it a little more diverse on their next release; otherwise, this is quality.
Oh yeah, and change the band name. Clown Down... I can't begin to describe how bad that is.
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