May 24, 2000

Southampton Joiners Arms

[a]Clearlake[/a] have proved themselves strange and unique.

If you'd thought to yourself recently that there are a lot of good bands at the moment, but one thing they all have in common is, well, a lack of imagination and sense of magic, then welcome to Clearlake - a band with such a heightened sense of magic realism they've even created an imaginary town to live in and name themselves after. They've slipped the moorings of their small-town lives and found the fantastic in the mundane.

Clearlake have only released one single so far, but some heavy radio rotation for upcoming 45 'Don't Let The Cold In' has made the crowd at the choked Joiners intrigued. Clearlake take to the stage with what has already become their signature tune: an organ grinding out the soundtrack to a trip to the seaside in the 1970s. It sets the tone for what's to follow.

Clearlake are a group descended from a clear line of whimsical English songwriting. Their first song 'Something To Look Forward To' immediately flicks the switch on the rich strangeness of their sound. A highly arranged pop song and a rumbling cacophony, it proves we've just entered deeply psychedelic waters. 'Live In A Dream' wants to give up entirely and float away, but it's 'Jumblesailing' that plays out Clearlake's twisted pop most vividly. With a melody that washes in and out like waves across feet, it's a tale of bargain-hunting that finds frontman Jason Pegg's voice high and clear, romanticising about second-hand shoes and jumpers. It does for charity shop culture what Blur's finest moment, 'This Is A Low', did for the shipping forecast. It's romantic and mystic, and it's quintessential Clearlake.

Like all the best love affairs, Clearlake turn the humdrum upside down and suddenly the debris of everyday life becomes a fantastic adventure. It's easy to dismiss all this as studenty artifice but Clearlake are like Pulp in that they sing about their own lives in a high art way. They float off to the strains of a beautiful new song called 'Sunday Evening' which is, funnily enough, about watching telly with your parents. Clearlake have proved themselves strange and unique. We've just got some of the magic back.