Album | Stereo Jealousy

It can hardly be said that Clinic have changed much over the past 10 years. Right from their initial releases up to 2008’s “Do It” they’ve kept that same dense gothic sound, with its fast paced guitar rhythms, humming electro organs, and creepy, sometimes hilarious lyrics. But for 2010’s “Bubblegum” they’ve decided to alter the mix and shake things up with a new sound. Or have they?

“Bubblegum” is a non-committed reinvention, the band deliberately trying to make a non-‘Clinic’ album. The sound is certainly softer, featuring many acoustic guitar driven tracks, but in making this change they’ve sacrificed the intensity and unique feeling of frenetic gloom that made them interesting in the first place. Soft guitar ballads, slow atmospheric rock, these things can be found from ten-a-penny bands, musicians who don’t have half the ingenuity or wit of this Liverpool four piece.

Morton Valence: Bob And Veronica Ride Again
Released 4th May 2009
Bastard Recordings

Morton Valence’s debut is an achingly British slab of pop, so desperate to tell us the story of the title’s namesakes that it comes packaged with a romantic novella. Thankfully, unlike many concept records, the album forms a coherent whole and begs to be listened to from start to finish. It does this whilst constantly shifting in style; dipping from Jesus And Mary Chain style shoegaze on the fantastic “I Must Go,”Said Veronica, “But I Will Always Come Back” through to classic electropop reminiscent of Saint Etienne or Black Box Recorder . The similarities to the latter don’t end there either, with Anne Gilpin recalling the glacial delivery of Sarah Nixey.

Whilst treading the same well worn boards as their pop peers Morton Valence carry the whole thing off with such charm, wit and panache that it never comes across as anything but original. I can’t wait for word to catch on about this glorious piece of work, and I suspect neither can the fans who invested in ‘shares’ of the album to ensure its release. A wonderful album that deserves to be near the top of the pile come the year end reckoning.

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For our London readers there are a couple of opportunities to catch Morton Valence over the next few weeks in the city. The first is on June 25 at the last of their Bob And Veronica Book Club events at The Enterprise, and also a chance for a bit of a boat party on July 9 as they play the Battersea Barge.

Morton Valence – Hang It On The Wall (mp3)
Morton Valence – Chandelier (video)