The thing that gets me about this band is how heavy they can be, despite the great amount of attention they pay to their melodies. Many bands have a wonderful sense of melody, but they become total snooze fests because they forget to throw in some heavy riffs to keep things moving. On the other hand, there are bands that crush, but they become grating because it’s all power chords and no melodies. Clandestine hit a nice middle ground between melodic and heavy without sacrificing any of both aspects.
Vocalist June Park is amazing. I have never heard her name before, but I expect to hear great things from her in the future. Her voice is crystalline and complements every aspect of the music, it’s like they have a secret lead guitarist hidden in her voice. She isn’t the sort of vocalist that’s completely lyrical, yet cannot sing to save her life. She has both aspects covered. If you don’t believe it, check out “Silent Sin.” However, June’s voice isn’t her only contribution to this band, she can even do some impressive things with a synth.
The best part about this band is that everyone in it is awesome. The guitar work is pure gold; nice solos, heavy riffs and great melodies to wrap it all up. The bass pushes the music forward at various points without ever sounding awkward or too forward. I’m convinced that Sammy J. Watson isn’t a human, but a tornado that has become enamored of the drums. With all these things factoring in, it’s not a surprise that it’s such a well-conceived album. Everything fits and sounds great. If stuff like this keeps coming out, then 2011 is going to be a great year for music.
In A Word: Luminous
