gullbuy music review

Clinic

title

The Magician

label

Domino Records

format
CD5

Clinic CD5 coverClinic probably has the best secret identity gag since Kiss, but we know they'll look good if they ever do reveal the faces behind those surgical masks. The Magician, a 3 track single from the forthcoming Winchester Cathedral carries on their strange pop musings.

The Magician has a driving rhythm propelled by reliable cymbal crashes and clarinet. The vocals are really buried here, but it draws you in and forces you to listen more closely to see if you can pick up a few more words as Magician is whispered over and over in a sinister way.

Golden Rectangle starts out languid, almost like a doo wop number echoing away, but the tension bubbles up from below the surface as the clarinet, cymbal crashes and falsetto ahhhahhhs and noisy guitar bits keep things moving along.

Nicht sounds like a long lost hardcore number with buzz saw guitars, crashing drums and buried vocals that ends dead cold.

The best thing about this single is that for its brevity, they had enough space for all of their big ideas. As disparate as these 3 tracks are, they’re all worth your time.

---Tina Glyptis, August 17, 2004