Clinic builds
a fan base

Music Row
By Brian Rademaekers

Long pioneers of the indie rock genre, England’s Clinic passed the 10-year mark in 2007 — an impressive milestone in an age when hot bands often seem to come and go on a whim.
Their recently released album, Do It!, is a delectable piece of evidence suggesting that this band still has plenty to offer in innovation and awesome rock. Unlike the flood of recent "reunited" band tours, these veterans have never ceased entertaining fans with a fresh influx of excellent and inspiring music, with their 2008 release being their fifth to date.
Formed in 1997 by Ade Blackburn (keyboard, melodica, vocals) and Jonathan Hartley (guitar, clarinet, keyboards), the Liverpool-based quartet got off to a slow start, with their first big-label signing (Domino Records) not coming until 1999.
Still, the band gained a rabid following where it counted most — the rock clubs and the festival circuit of the United Kingdom.
Their distinct sound, which blended out-of-date keyboards, organs and guitars with edgy indie rock full of off-kilter chord progressions, proved to be a captivating cocktail. That combination of energetic, up-tempo rock linked to weird, vintage sounds often had Clinic labeled as an "art punk" group early on, though listeners need not be fans of either punk or experimental music to appreciate the band’s compositions.
After taking on members Brian Campbell (bass, flute, vocals) and Carl Turney (drums, piano, backing vocals), the band released some short-plays that caught the attention of respected BBC disc jockey John Peel.
A string of early singles kept fans at bay until 2000, when Clinic released Internal Wrangler, their first official full-length. That release brought fans a dark and throbbing collection of songs that heaped together ballads, thrashing punk vibes, as well as Kraut and surf rock.
Holding those disparate flavors together is the experimental genius of Clinic, a sort of glue that soaks up everything wonderful about many different styles of music and coalesces them all into addictive, rocking songs.
Through the years and albums, that genius has remained a constant with Clinic, making each album a distinct foray into their very own niche of modern music.
Two years after Internal Wrangler came Walking With Thee, perhaps their most popular album to date.
Here, the clamor and edge were toned down a few notches to bring a slower, more atmospheric work that sparkled in a way still very true to Clinic’s sound.
While some criticized Walking With Thee as being too smoothed out and without the scratchy rawness found on earlier works, the 2002 release helped the band find a new family of fans.
In 2004, their Winchester Cathedral release kept pace, but it was 2006’s Visitations that really saw Clinic jump back into the swing of things with a dark, roguish album full of mysterious pockets and some seriously rocking gusto.
With theremins, autoharps, zithers and wide array of percussion on hand, Clinic hammered out an album that saw them move from their more punk-influenced tendencies to the other side of their experimental spectrum.
All the while, they maintained a solid and rocking pace that keeps listeners hanging on to their seats and breathless.
In tune with their pleasantly consistent schedule of releasing a fresh set of originals every two years, Dig It! is an assemblage of songs suited to fit longtime fans and newcomers alike. Ripping across the album, the chugging electric energy of Clinic is present and in fine form, giving it a thudding, even danceable vibe on some tracks. oo
It is an irresistible sound sure to rope in those with an affinity for bands like Radiohead and Blonde Redhead.
Here in Philly, fans of their sound, or even those who just consider themselves indie rock junkies, will do well to catch their upcoming live act.
Expect plenty of explosive energy, extended jams and far-out atmospherics from these lads in doctors masks. ••

Check it out . . .
Who: Clinic
What: Longtime indie rockers touting one of their best albums to date
When: Friday, May 30, at 9 p.m.
Where: Johnny Brenda’s, Frankford and Girard avenues. Tickets, $13.