Clinic Collection

This came to my attention a little late, but Clinic (MySpace) is releasing a b-sides collection called Funf on the 18th.
Listening to the twelve tracks -- which span across the band's entire history (they formed in 1997!) -- has reminded me why I love these guys so much.

While I was a fan of Visitations, I do feel like the group has been treading water for a few years now. They created a novel sound -- cold, harsh, post-punk psychedelica that revitalized English music in my eyes -- with Internal Wrangler and other early output, but once the sound was "settled," they did little to refresh it. Bands tend to go through an archetypal pattern of creativity: first comes the LP that blows you away, then the album that provides minor updates of the familiar sound, then comes the third effort which is the most experimental and bizarre to date.
Clinic had no such history. That was a little disappointing to me.

However ... the band's sound is still timeless and Funf reinforces that. Check out these two tracks and get the thing! "The Castle" is a cut from the Internal Wrangler days (late 2001) while "Magic Boots" is a punkier Clinic tune from late 1999. Why does that seem so ... old now!?

Clinic - The Castle
Clinic - Magic Boots