And on the drums, Gemini
On bass guitar, presenting, Pisces
On lead guitar, we have Aries
And on the microphone, Scorpio, go!!!! (X-Ray Visions)
I can’t think of a record I’ve had more fun with in recent times than Clutch Psychic Warfare. If you had to pick a single LP to embody all that’s groovy and fantabulousissima about rock music in 2017* then this is the one for me – it rocks dang hard (‘Firebirds’), it’s funny** (‘A Quick Death in Texas’), rousing (‘Son of Virginia’), clever (‘X-Ray Visions’) and it just rocks doubledang hard again (‘Noble Savage’). Proper music, for proper people.
Lead off single ‘X-Ray Visions’ just really kicks all manner of derrière right from the opening seconds on, searing riffs and wild lyrical flights of fantasy involving CIA psychic attack experiments, possession by the spirits of Ronald and Nancy Reagan and horoscopes. Whew! Just about the only topics I can think of that are missing from there are stamp collecting and chicken rearing. The band is so tight, locking into a really tight groove behind Neil Fallon’s bellicose amiability, with the kind of chops you only earn after playing a million gigs in a million cities. Scorpio, go!
My favourite track on Psychic Warfare today, an accolade that is very liable to change by sundown^ is the epic, ferocious, cowboy tinged rock of ‘Son of Virginia’. Fallon’s sounds like God passing judgment on the world on this one and the band really hit it hard as it builds and builds. I really do have no defences to this song and it’s line ‘I was thrown to the ground as my world broke asunder / Truly we are living in an age of wonder’ just slays me every time, for reasons I cannot quite put my finger on.
On a similar vein is the, appropriately, Texan flavoured ‘A Quick Death in Texas’, written as Psychic Warfare was being recorded in the titular state^^. Name-dropping Billy Gibbons, this track amusingly tells the tale of a Yankee’s bad end, the band are having so much fun right here that it’s truly infectious. Clutch are smart enough to realise that the aspect of ZZ Top that everyone misses when they pay tribute to them is their out-and-out loose funkiness, needless to say the boys add it here by the bucket load:
Just like Clutch I’ll play it fast and loose here, skip a few tracks and you get to the quite astonishing American gothic of ‘Our Lady of Electric Light’, set up by the short atmospheric instrumental ‘Doom Saloon’. It takes the form of a vaguely country-affected waltz, all drama light and shade, with lyrics that could mean everything or absolutely nothing at all. A lot of bands have 40 year careers without ever touching upon anything half as good as this. This is just perfection squared:
She enters the bar room
And lifts her veil
With a voice like running water
She tells them her tale
To follow this with the kamikaze rock of ‘Noble Savage’ is just great sequencing, let’s face it Clutch know what they’re about by now. This track just hurtles on past you, propelled by some particularly fine fretwork from Tim Sult, including a musical tilt of the hat to White Zombie. Simple and as effective as a kick in the head.
For the sake of brevity I have missed out a slew of good tracks here, but I’d encourage you to have a good explore by yourselves – there are two-legged dogs, seductive witches, decapitation and colossi to be discovered lurking hither and yon on Psychic Warfare. As I’ve said to anyone who’ll listen since I first thought of it 20 minutes ago, Clutch are rather unique denizens of our great musical continent of Rockadonia, they owe very little to the distant past, other than a brief stylistic nod or two, they are very much of here and very much of now. It’s nice to be able to type that.
So basically my message is, if you like music and/or fun then buy this LP and I guarantee it will make you happier and up to 12.91% foxier than you were. True story, I’d never lie to you, I’m a Scorpio, go!!
As a little twofer bonus thang here, I recently nabbed a RSD 2016 release by Clutch, where they released two outtakes from the Psychic Warfare sessions back into the wild. A limited edition, one-sided etched precious, precious artefact Mad Sidewinder / Outland Special Clearance was worth all the shekels I parted with for it^*. ‘Mad Sidewinder’ is a close cousin of their own ‘Earth Rocker’ all righteous chugging fury and some awesome playing from the rhythm section of Jean-Paul Gaster and Dan Maines in particular, there is a brilliant break-down section – this really rocks hard. Imagine Monster Magnet without the burnout.
Goal setting, overachieving, are not among my top priorities
A better lesson, keep ’em guessing, and celebrate diversity
Manipulators are allergic to soul, how I love to frustrate them
What better time than here and now, re-evaluate the situation.
Damned liberal pinko rock-types! Time to tell them where to get off with all their evil agenda peddling respect and decency! Which is a theme that permeates ‘Outland Special Clearance’ too with its mutterings about Alex Jones, chaos and warfare, it’s fine but it doesn’t come wrapped up in as good a tune as ‘ … Sidewinder’. Both tracks would have added to Psychic Warfare if they’d have made the cut and that is, from me, praise indeed.
Peace out.
768 Down.
PS: some exemplary video-making right here:
*I know it’s from 2015, but it casts a big enough shadow. So just lip up!
**always a prerequisite for greatness in my book.
^another definite indicator of a great album is when your fave track changes daily.
^^ha-ha, I said ‘titular’ again!
^*not too many to tell the truth, I still say if you don’t nab what you want on RSD just wait a bit until all the profiteers flock off and the prices come right down again, for most things.
I’m liking this one also.
New LP is brilliant too.
Noted. Thanks you “finger on the pulse guy”. Or “Foot on the Clutch guy”
My daughter is into pop music and I played this in the car with her along.
She asked “Who is this?” in an annoying teen voice.
I told her Clutch.
She asked “Like the purse?”
Now I ask. Is a 17 year old too old to spank?
Just sigh in a pitying manner, it’s what I do.
I already have this on vinyl and love it. I gave it 10/10.
This week I also got my Clutch Psychic Rockers From The West Group cd boxset in the mail.
I have seen the band live and will agree they are awesome. I have many of their albums and believe this is their best one.
I can’t wait for a new one, but have my doubts that they will ever make one as awesome as this from front to back.
Nice write up and awesome pics. I agree with Bruce that the boat picture is great.
The hands over the rail especially.
I remember how much you went for this one, it is great stuff. For my money they are the best rock group out there today.
Neither here nor there, but I first heard and was taken in by Clutch via the Transnational Speedway League: Anthems, Anecdotes, and Undeniable Truths album while killing time in the Kuwaiti desert some years ago. That earlier stuff is great! But, I think the latter-day Clutch on this album and Earth Rocker is even better; they’ve truly perfected their one-of-a-kind forged steel/bowling-alley-bumper-cushion groove.
Your description of a band “(locked) into a really tight groove behind Neil Fallon’s bellicose amiability” is spot on, not to mention pretty skilled wordsmithery.
Surely there’s a blog post right there, when you have the time? That’s not an LP title I’d want tattooed anywhere about my person either!
I only know their last two LPs and I just love them unreservedly. I can’t wait to see what they’ll give us next.
And thank you very much, I couldn’t think of a better description for what they do, but I am better at doing boob jokes.
I still need to give these guys a chance. Clutch played a small bar about 45 minutes from my house in South Bend a couple years ago. I regret not going now. A good friend has been a fan for 20 years. It seems like a no-brainer that I should dig Clutch.
No! You missed them? But they rock and they’re funny, and clever, and nice too. I’ve only seen them once and they were a real blast.
I really rate this LP and Earth Rocker too. I’d buy ’em just for the cover art too.
I’ll try and find one this week. It’s time.
Loved “A Quick Death & X-Ray I’m looking forward to hearing more from this great rocking group. Thanks for bringing them to my attention.
Really pleased you like ’em, my Clutch knowledge doesn’t go back very far but I really want to explore more too.
I worked with a guy here, in my town, who is probably the biggest Clutch fan ever. At least, that I’ve ever met. He grew a beard because of them. But he got me into listening to them and I’m happy to report that this group frickin’ rocks and I fully endorse everything Mr. 1537 has reported here!
I love the idea that he grew a beard to look like Neil Fallon! I’ve only dipped my toes in the water with them with the last two albums, there’s a lot more to discover.
Our local Sunrise has a couple of their earlier albums for $6 each (on the evil silver disc, sadly). I was sorely tempted to try them out!
Excellent. This one really interested me (artwork!), but I’ve always felt a bit underwhelmed by Clutch. By all accounts they should be right up my street, but it just never clicked.
This sounds great, though. Maybe I need to reassess my feelings towards them…
I gather if you round to 2 decimal places, the statistic/product claim automatically becomes true.
And seeing as I’m seeking to become at least 12.90% foxier (but not exceed 12.92% increased foxiness) – this looks like the ticket!
It pays to be precise about foxiness.
And on the drums…Mr Bun E Carlos! Sorry man Whenever I hear that phrase I go all Cheap Trick!
My Bad…
These guys have been around now a while haven’t they?
They’re road-tested and true to the faith. People lamp them with the stoner rock tag, but it doesn’t fit. They’re everything rock! If they ever come to your town I’d recommend them whole-heartedly.
Well, if you’d had a carrot make a hole in your chest the size of a cricket ball, wouldn’t you be a tad upset?
Fair point Bruce, fair point.
BTW, really like the pic of the stern of the ship in dry dock – and what you did with it! Is that an insert or a detail from the cover?
Thank you, it is the picture on the inner sleeve (the other side is lyrics and such stuff). I played around with it loads.
Behold!
https://jatstorey.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/clutch.jpg