Clutter – ‘Clutter Loves You’ EP review: promising but not quite there
THE SKINNY: Despite only having a population a fraction of the size of most of the big hitters in entertainment, Sweden has managed to establish a strong track record when it comes to producing highly entertaining and energetic guitar-oriented bands. From The Wannadies through to The Hives and, most recently, Viagra Boys, this only accounts for a small portion of the tremendous noise that the Scandinavian country has become known for, and Clutter is being touted as the next star in this impressive lineage.
With a sound that harks back to the simpler times of scrappy 1990s indie rock, there’s plenty that the Stockholm four-piece have going for them that could help to propel them in a similar direction to their predecessors, but amidst their youthful exuberance and desire to reinvigorate the sounds of a bygone era, there appears to be a few patches of inconsistency to iron out before they’re ready to ascend to the next level.
Their touchstones appear to come from all the right places, with there being shades of noisy grunge groups such L7 and Britpop acts like Elastica shining through across their debut EP, Clutter Loves You, but some of the songs still feel as though they’ve been released in skeletal form and fail to really jump to the same level of urgent that either of the aforementioned bands managed to achieve on their earliest releases.
It’s not a dreadful first offering by any means, but it is one that only gives a glimpse of a band in its infancy that might have the potential to blossom into something greater if they knew where to apply their focus and dig deeper into their sound to produce something truly compelling. The band are taut and talented, the songs just aren’t quite there yet.
For fans of: Listening to all of the demos of a band before they get big and noticing where all the flashes of potential came from.
A concluding comment from the geeks, nerds and weirdo freaks: “Oh, this is for me? Thanks, I guess. I suppose it’s the thought that counts.”
Clutter Loves You track by track:
Release Date: April 11th | Producer: Ove Jerndal | Label: PNKSLM Recordings
‘Geeks’: The opener promises high energy, but the song doesn’t quite pick up and reach a point where it realises its full potential. There are some great grunge and noise rock riffs going on, but when there isn’t a hook for them to latch onto, you’re left wanting a little more. [3/5]
‘Pretty’: Another quite primitive-sounding track that harks back to early garage rock in the verses, although it morphs into a more shoegaze-inspired cut in the chorus, which takes away any sense of cohesion that it could have forged for itself. [3/5]
‘Brideshead’: This track is where the ’90s alternative rock and grunge worship actually begins to settle down and demonstrate more of a flair for its primary inspiration. The wall of guitar noise against the melancholic vocal style does a stellar job of capturing the sense of ennui that propelled so many groups during this era. [3.5/5]
‘Brainiac’: Unfortunately, this doesn’t bear a huge amount of resemblance to the Ohio experimental rock group that the track shares its name with, and sadly, the track isn’t distinct enough from the one before it to warrant much additional attention being paid to it. [2.5/5]
‘Jesus’: Here we get another side to the ’90s underground, with there being a slight detection of a Britpop and baggy-inspired slant to this song. Unfortunately, the one-note vocal melodies and lack of a C-section to follow the verse and guitar breakdown of the A and B sections mean that it gets repetitive quickly. [3/5]
‘Kraut’: We depart with a much more reserved song to round up affairs, and this one is seemingly paying homage to the early-2000s indie rock hype bands like The Strokes and Interpol while being backed up by a continuous propulsive rhythm. Again, it’s disappointing that the song doesn’t feel fully fleshed out, but the band clearly have ideas that they just need to learn how to refine. [3.5/5]
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