Clutch - Robot Hive / Exodus Review

Anytime Clutch releases a new CD it's like a holiday here at antiMusic. Forget Christmas, the Fourth of July and all of those other so called special days on the calendar, the release of a Clutch album is one of the biggest events of the year and everyone wants to get in on the action. That's why we are doing something a little different for the review coverage of Clutch's new CD Robot Hive / Exodus. Instead of one review or one posting of a Tag Team review we have four reviews planned for you! You can never get enough Clutch, so in the next few weeks we'll be giving you different perspectives on the band and their brand new album.

7/13/05 For this final installment in this four part series we hear from Dr Fever. If anyone has been carrying the Clutch torch here at antiMusic it has been Fever who never fails to let us in on Clutch's latest efforts and how the band continues to blow him away. <i>Robot Hive/Exodus</i> continues the tradition. Dr Fever was originally supposed to give us the low down and a recent show but in rock n roll things can get FUBAR so the good Dr decided to give us his take on the new CD instead. 

Dr Fever's review - He gave it a rating of :  Pretty much any conversation I've had for the last few months has, at one point or another involved me repeating the same thing over and over again: 2005 has been the most productive year I can recall in quite some time in terms of the release (week after week) of quality and even SUPER albums. Clutch�s Robot Hive/Exodus is definitely one of those SUPER albums.

I know some folks who know me might read this and just try and chalk this up to my Clutch bias. Now, I admit that I am biased towards Clutch. They are, along with Cave In and Isis, my favorite band. BUT, here�s the thing about this band that never ceases to impress me: they change/grow/evolve and get better with each album.

Honestly, how many bands do YOU listen to that you can honestly say that about? And I don�t mean that YOU think they�re getting better with each album...I mean, the kind of progression that ANYONE can sit down and listen to all their albums in chronological order and say �Christ...these guys really did grow/get better/evolve with each album.� Honestly, kids, there aren�t that many. Like, you can count them on two hands and have fingers left over.

Musically; Clutch has gone from a more �hardcore� leaning style to their current incarnation. A rock and roll monster that owes as much to sh*t kicking dive bar rock and roll as it does to blues and jam bands. If Clutch were a living, breathing person it�s shrink would have long ago put it on Ritalin....and Tom Cruise would be attacking Matt Lauer about how such drugs don�t work. Ooops, got a little sidetracked there...where was I? Oh yes, this current incarnation of Clutch draws not only from Neil Fallons off-kilter lyrics (and epic facial hair) but from JP Gastner�s �Bonham-esque� drum pounding. These are the backbone of Clutch. The overdrive to this collection of Gearheads. Tim Sult (fun fact: Tim Sult has a guitar on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. It�s right between Kurt Cobains baby blue Jagstang and Jimi Hendrix�s white Fender. I�ve seen it with my own eyes and have the pictures to prove it) continues to find creative ways to use his Wah peddle and draw from the most simple of riff structures. No guitar masturbation solos here. And, Dan Maines pulls a �George Harrison� (meaning, you never really hear anything about him...he�s The Quiet One...but his contributions to the overall aesthetic are essential.) Last years Blast Tyrant showed us what Clutch was capable of creatively, and incorporated elements we�d never heard before, Robot Hive/Exodus takes those and even adds Mick Schauer�s organ work. The organ had become a stable of their live show the last couple times I'd seen them, but on this album it is a VERY prominent addition to the overall sound. And they also dive head first into Blues. The albums next to last track (�Gravel Road�) has the good toe tapping bluesy feeling that makes you want to listen to it on repeat for hours (a stunt that I have, in fact, already done.)

With a the music industry seeming to want to hold onto the dying �trendy rock� trend and throwing all it�s weight into absolutely horrible Nu-New Wave (unnngh.), it�s albums like Robot Hive/Exodus that jump up and attempt to slap some sense into the naysayers. And, as I said earlier, it�s just one of a large number of strong releases that have been unleashed on the music buying public this year. However, I have no doubt, that when the smoke clears and the calendar tells us it�s 2006 this album will be sitting at the top of the heap. And Neil Fallon will stroke his prodigious beard in triumph knowing that once again he has won the battle against the music world. Now, if only he could figure out a way to make the barbwire tattoo on their bicep crowd stop chanting for �Binge and Purge� every time they play. Then, Clutch will have truly conquered the world.
 

Gary Schwind's review - He gave it a rating of :  There are not many bands whose CD release date I mark on the calendar.  Clutch is one of those bands.  A new Clutch release is like Festivus for Clutch fans, which are some of the most loyal fans around.  Just go to a live Clutch show and you�ll see what I mean.  To call us fans is not giving us enough credit.  Clutch fans are more like zealots or fanatics, and I don�t mean that with any negative connotations.

In one sense you know what you�re going to get from Clutch.  You�re going to get:

� Fat guitar riffs
� Some of the tightest rhythms in the business
� Stream-of-consciousness lyrics delivered in Neil Fallon�s rumbling growl.

But the thing that makes Clutch so awesome is that they have never made the same album twice.  They have grown from the anger of Transnational Speedway League to the mythical science fiction of their eponymous album to this album, which includes (gasp!) keyboards and two blues covers.  That�s right, loyal listeners.  Clutch closes this album with �Gravel Road,� (Mississippi Fred McDowell) and �Who�s Been Talking?� (Howlin� Wolf).  Not surprisingly, they pull off both songs splendidly, which tells you something about their versatility.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, has greater scope in their lyrics than Clutch.  Only Neil Fallon can sing about Dokken, the Holy Ghost, Jimmy Hoffa, Charles Darwin and Dom Perignon in the same album.  Neil also injects a fair amount of humor into his neo-mythological lyrics.  Take his not-so-subtle reference to a certain rich guy that can be seen on a �reality� TV show when he sings �Real estate moguls, Chump Towers.�  I also like �You Babel rabble-rousers in polyester trousers� in the song �Gullah.� I don�t know where Neil gets his inspiration, but I hope he keeps doing whatever has gotten him this far.

This song is packed with all the things that make Clutch great.  There is not a bad song on the album, and with all their other albums, it seems to become better with each spin. They continue to grow as a band, making sure to deliver a different feel with each album, and each show.  I�ll tell you what.  If you like big guitars and tight rhythms but don�t have any Clutch albums, go out and buy this album.  If you don�t like it, spin it again.  If you still don�t like it, spin it again.  Before you know it, you�ll probably have their entire discography.  That�s how it happens, and those of us that belong to the Brotherhood of Clutch Fans wouldn�t have it any other way.  Long live Clutch! 

Click here for Part I & II of this special and to post your own review of the CD

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