Visitations - Clinic

‘Visitations’ - Clinic’s fourth full-length album release - is unfortunately going to do nothing to help their already-marginalized status in the ever-widening field of post-punk indie rock. At the release of their debut effort in 2000, they were critically acclaimed as an experimental yet accessible take on their punk influences. Likened to such greats as Sonic Youth and The Velvet Underground, it seemed they could do no wrong – they were a favourite ...
...a UK tour. But every subsequent release since then has focussed more and more on the worst aspects of their debut, turning out endless versions of the same guitar-driven thrashing monotony, with this newest album being no exception.

The new album’s first single ‘Tusk’ is one of the highlights of a terminally dull musical experience. It has some interesting if unoriginal guitar lines but fails to excite any real curiosity to listen ... more

‘Visitations’ - Clinic’s fourth full-length album release - is unfortunately going to do nothing to help their already-marginalized status in the ever-widening field of post-punk indie rock. At the release of their debut effort in 2000, they were critically acclaimed as an experimental yet accessible take on their punk influences. Likened to such greats as Sonic Youth and The Velvet Underground, it seemed they could do no wrong – they were a favourite with the late John Peel and even supported Radiohead on a UK tour. But every subsequent release since then has focussed more and more on the worst aspects of their debut, turning out endless versions of the same guitar-driven thrashing monotony, with this newest album being no exception.

The new album’s first single ‘Tusk’ is one of the highlights of a terminally dull musical experience. It has some interesting if unoriginal guitar lines but fails to excite any real curiosity to listen further. ‘Gideon’ and ‘Paradise’ also start well, showcasing the band’s eerie melodies and darkly catchy throb, but both fail to reach any sort of climax and disappointingly end abruptly around the three-minute-mark. Other low points include the weak opening track ‘Family’ and the synth-heavy songs ‘Animal/Human’ and the second single ‘Harvest (Within You)’.

Elsewhere, there are a few redeeming features: an engaging guitar solo on ‘Children of Kellogg’; the switch from electric to acoustic guitar for ‘Jigsaw Man’; innovative use of samples and unusual percussion on the title track ‘Visitations’. But overall, the lyrical monotony and high-pitched clenched-teeth vocals are what define this album, making it worth very little of your time. 

...less