CLUTCH - Jam Room
January 10, 2001, 23 years ago
(EMI/Spitfire)
Fuck, this band aggravates me to no end. For years now I've heard people sing their praises, but I could never figure them out. Are they joking, are they serious, what is their deal? So file 'em next to King's X, The Misfits and Sonic Youth as bands everyone rattles on about but I just can't get a grasp on. This release does absolutely nothing to help matters either, the first half all being short songs that sound like Primus doing old doo-wop songs or something, with an occasional Sabbath leaning thrown in here and there, all hazed over with a lotta stoner rock vibes. In the second half the songs get a bit longer, things get a bit more focused and a lot more Sabbathy, and I can start to make sense of it all. I mean, if it all sounded like 'Basket of Eggs' I could see where the hype comes from, as that is one hell of a good song. I have this feeling that it's some sort of weird over-my-head joke, some twisted version of Candid Camera where once the grooves lock in and I finally start banging the old noggin' a bit, the band will jump out of my closet, laughing, saying "you think this is GOOD?" After a couple of listens the noggin' is certainly banging though, because even if the motives are foggy, the band knows how to get a groove going, and drummer J.P. Gaster can seriously reel you in. God damn, I don't know, ask a Clutch fan what they think of it. Note: rating sat at a 6 for a good week before becoming a 7 and further escalating is predicted.
