6 / 10
Yet another band ripped from the pages of the Neon Bible, Clues are a supergroup of Montreal musicians working very much in the shadow, and the studio, of Arcade Fire. So yeah, this is a bunch of multi-instrumental French-Canadians singing portentous songs by candlelight, and building into a clatter of mardy-God thunder. It’s almost parodic in places; lines like “At the fountain of truth we drink the questions down” (from ‘Approach The Throne’) try desperately to be Loaded With Meaning. Yet get past the grating AF-isms and there’s some good tunes. ‘Perfect Fit’ is stripped-down Sparks, ‘Cave Mouth’ captures the chaotic blues-funk of Captain Beefheart and ‘Crows’ is like PJ Harvey using her ‘White Chalk’ voice on a ‘Dry’ song. Worth persisting with.
Martin Robinson
Click here to get your copy of 'Clues' from the Rough Trade shop
NEW! For the latest music videos and backstage interviews, check out our brand new sister site, NME Video.
- Previous Album Review : Album review: Bowerbirds - 'Upper Air'
- Next Album Review : Album review: Clutch - 'Strange Cousins From The West'
Comments do not always reflect the views of NME, or IPC Media, for guidelines visit our Ts & Cs page