Hi, you wanna know about us?By: Victor Van Ommen
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 07/09/2018
Label: Weathermaker Music
Clutch just keeps releasing one quality album after the next, each one incomparable to the one preceding it. Each album has that classic Clutch sound, yet each album looks forward and takes the listener out for one helluva good time. This new album, Book of Bad Decisions is no different. It’s a rip roaring, rock and roll party. And you’d better get yourself on the guest list.
Book of Bad Decisions CD//DD//LP track listing:
1 Gimme the Keys
2 Spirit of '76
3 Book of Bad Decisions
4 How to Shake Hands
5 In Walks Barbarella
6 Vision Quest
7 Weird Times
8 Emily Dickinson
9 Sonic Counselor
10 A Good Fire
11 Ghoul Wrangler
12 H.B. Is in Control
13 Hot Bottom Feeder
14 Paper & Strife
15 Lorelei
The Review:
There are two types of people in this world; those who love Clutch, and those who don’t know Clutch yet.
If you know Clutch, then you also know that last Friday, September 7th, was marked in everyone’s calendar as a holiday. After all, this was the date that Clutch released their umpteenth album, Book of Bad Decisions. And because this is a Clutch album, you know it’s going to be good. And for those who don’t know Clutch yet, listen up: check out this new album. It’s just as good of an entry point as any into the band’s vast discography.
Sure, there isn’t a single Clutchalbum – in my humble opinion – that lacks in quality. Once upon a time these boys from the great state of Maryland got together in a jam room and made some tunes. They spent some time finding their voice and sound. Then they changed the face of stoner rock with the release of Blast Tyrant. It was at this moment, sometime early on in 2004, that these beasts from the east really found their stride. Robot Hive/Exodus and From Beale Street to Oblivion followed, making for a 3 album run the likes of which haven’t been seen since Led Zeppelin made the scene.
Am I talking the band up too much? Maybe. But I’m one who can throw on any Clutch album at any time and dig in. So let’s rap about this new one.
Before the album’s release, Clutchreleased 4 singles. And man, if these singles don’t rile you up, then what will? Anyway, “Gimme the Keys” led the charge with that famous Clutch march. A great song that walks that fine line between aggressive rock and a downright, dirty party. Singer Neil Fallon spits rhymes and wails away behind the mic in top form. Preaching? Sure is. Preaching the rock!
Then came “How to Shake Hands”, a song that’s as much a rager as it is indebted to John Lee Hooker. Wild lyrics fly around, the beats are pushed forward and the guitars are tastefully crunchy. The subject matter might seem questionable, but when you hear Fallon’s plans to put Jimi Hendrix on the 20 dollar bill, there’s nothing else left to do than to throw your fists in the air, jump around in the mosh pit, and sing along.
My favorite single came next, the tasty “Hot Bottom Feeder.” Here, Clutch shows that they can literally read out a recipe and by doing so, knock yet another song out of the park. Not long after, came the single “In Walks Barbarella;” a rompin’, stompin’ barn burner of a song, complete with horn section, comic book references and a hook so big that you could take this song fishing and catch a whale.
But then I wondered, has Clutchblown their load on these singles? What’s left of their story to tell?
Well, the album’s 15 songs long and there’s not one moment in which the energy drops. “Spirit of ‘76” is a short, sweet ditty with a sticky chorus. The title track follows, stomping along in true blues style as Fallon paints a pretty vivid picture. And that bass line, man, listen to that!
“Vision Quest” and “Weird Times” are in the 6 and 7 spot of the track list, and break things up nicely. “Vision Quest” rides a sweet roll on the piano, an element that really rounds out the song. “Weird Times” has a cool call and response chorus, and I gotta say, if Fallon can pull this chorus off with as much gusto in a live setting as he does he on record, then things are going to go nuts.
More hits follow in the second half of the album. The slower “Emily Dickinson” is about just that, and it’s no surprise that “Lorelei” tells a mythological tale. “Ghoul Wrangler” makes its mark with the “woo!” that starts the chorus, and “Sonic Counselor” really puts Clutch in that gospel church setting. “A Good Fire” is going to be off the hook when taken to the stage, as will the groovy “H.B. Is in Control.”So yeah, hits, hits and more hits.
Yeah, I’m a fan of Clutch. Seen ‘em take to the stage over 30 times. Sometimes, I spend more time sitting in a car getting to and from a Clutch gig than the gig itself lasts. And there’s not been one single time that I’ve regretted doing so. This review is written as a fan of the band. A fan who hasn’t stopped listening to the album since its release last Friday. Who knows, maybe you want to take this review with a grain of salt.
But hear this…
Clutch just keeps releasing one quality album after the next, each one incomparable to the one preceding it. Each album has that classic Clutch sound, yet each album looks forward and takes the listener out for one helluva good time. This new album, Book of Bad Decisions is no different. It’s a rip roaring, rock and roll party. And you’d better get yourself on the guest list.
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