Clark - Clark

Clark

Clark

3 November 2014

Warp

 

4 stars out of 5

 

 

Clark is the eponymous seventh LP by English IDM producer Chris Clark. It’s atypical of his earlier body of work, in that much of it is actually danceable. If you’re used to the glitchy textures and ambient meanderings of his older material, you might be surprised to find that Clark is (*gasp*) downright accessible in its beats and keyboard lines. This isn’t to say that it’s watered down or otherwise compromised—as it’s still a strong collection of well thought-out tracks and it holds together quite nicely—just that it’s not as likely to scare your cat.

 

Beginning with a nod to his sometimes ambient past (“Ship Is Flooding”), Clark then takes us on a tour of his new rhythm-centered music (“Winter Linn,” “Unfurla”). It’s still somewhat cold and distant stuff, like a snow-covered landscape seen through the train windows on your way to visit your cousins in northern Sweden. “Sodium Trimmers” is an almost industrial chunk of hard techno, and the frantic “Banjo” seamlessly picks up where “Sodium Trimmers” leaves off. By the time you hit the decapitated vocals of “Snowbird,” the seventh track, it has become clear that Clark is conceived as a whole, not merely a collection of random pieces. Clark shows his masterly skills here in his flow as well as in his composition; the grand scheme of Clark is just as important as its minute details. Closing with the majestic couplet of the high BPMs of “There’s a Distance in You” and the ambient washes of “Everlane,” Clark shows with Clark that he can remain exciting and innovative no matter how obscure or accessible he chooses to be.

 

reviewed by Richard Krueger