Clutch: Earth Rocker

Clutch: Earth Rocker

2013

Weathermaker Music

Format I Own it on: Vinyl and Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Earth Rocker  2. Crucial Velocity  3. Mr. Freedom  4. D.C. Sound Attack!  5. Unto the Breach  6. Gone Cold  7. The Face  8. Book, Saddle, & Go  9. Cyborg Bette  10. Oh, Isabella  11. The Wolf Man Kindly Requests…




Earth Rocker?!?  Hey! Earth! That's where I'm from too!

I don't live there anymore, but I usually end up using a coupla weeks of  vacation time to make it back there once a year...I like visiting Earth because it's the only place you can get Koegel's...

Anyway, I like this "Earth Rocker" album...I didn't know what to make of the title track at first...The lyrics seemed so sparse and plainspoken...They still had the sense of humor, but it really wasn't until I heard Neil's "BLOOOO-AAH-AAH-AH-AH-AH-AHHH!!!!!" that everything snapped into place for me...

The album's goal seems to be stripping away all the excess jamming, goosing the tempos and putting the excitement back into Clutch...Although, I liked "Strange Cousins from the West" very much, a feeling of comfortable routine started to set in...Especially on some of the slower and more ponderous stuff like "Abraham Lincoln," but "Earth Rocker" is sharp and concise.  If songs like "Crucial Velocity" aren't necessarily the best songs they've ever written, at least they're the most slammin'...

And boy, do I love "DC Sound Attack," it's probably the song that most resembles their last couple of albums, but it's like the ultimate version of that heavy blues style...Honking harmonica, dense guitar and a nice catchy shout-along...

"Unto the Breach" is right up there, too, but mostly cos it has a bunch of Doctor Who references that are almost up there with "Big News'" Greedo shout-out...

(Okay, I might have to wrap up this entry pretty quick...Looking at that old "Five Doctors" videotape artwork really makes me watch that episode with every fiber of my being...)

Really, the only song that doesn't rage full-tilt is "Gone Cold," which still kinda rocks in its own way...This song kind of reminds me of the mellower moments on "Blast Tyrant."

I'm handing it to Clutch...They were a heavy band that navigated a couple of the most potentially hazardous eras for heavy bands and never made a mistake...Never added that seventh string, never turned into wrestling rock,  never did screamo shrieks, never teamed up with Skrillex...

Bottom line, they've never released a shitty record...Every square inch of their discography rocks, so let's salute Clutch, and listen to "Crucial Velocity"...