Leicester's music scene has grown from a dormant classical venue and an O2
Academy, to the hub of the Midlands bar / pub scene. No more does the simple Leicesterian
have to rely on travelling to Birmingham or Nottingham to see a band for less
than £10. Clubs. have been playing at the small Leicester venues, and it's a
great way to start up, get moving, and be ready for the small UK tour and
beyond that artists in London have readily available at their doorstep. With Leicester's
music festivals feeling the cash-stripped past, the small venues are thriving.
It's allowed Clubs. to be given the floor to present themselves, and without
this window of opportunity, we wouldn’t be gathering over this recording right
now. In retrospect, location is irrelevant with most music. It can be a
defining aspect of your sound, such as with west coast rap, or Madchester.
Clubs. sound is a representation of a general alternative
rock sound with a hand in the electronic rock genre we covered with Liverpool's
Etches the other day.
Clubs. second track "Carry You" is a development on their first track - "Other". Together these tracks make up Clubs. first release titled Velvet EP. From these recordings, you can clearly pick out the influences and direction Clubs. intend to take their music. The simplistic use of delay and reverb on the opening four chord progression means more than the sound suggests. It's the front cover of a book, but the book is about math rock in the reverb place. Clubs. are using a sound already established from acts like Foals and Beach Fossils, taking it down a notch to be something more like a bedtime story rather than a lunchtime workout.
Lead vocalist CJ Pandit holds his own at the front of "Carry You", owning the recording with his soft falsetto. It's backed by the baritone vocals of Joe Phelan, for a severe bipolar effect. It's this dominant mixture of happy sad emotions that play together with the lyrics. Note the use of left / right percussion sounds throughout the track, and the finely produced lead guitar. Clubs. are binding an advanced pop structure that has worked for decades, with the lead guitar progressions high up on the fretboard. Interesting sounds for an artist with just two tracks available on their bandcamp, brought together by the ear-catching refrain, of: "Love love love."
~Eddie