I mentioned this band several months ago, but thought I would bring them up again since they're suddenly making some waves. The Clarks are a regional rock band out of Pittsburgh. For several years now, they've made Columbus (my hometown) a regular stop on their interminable touring schedule. A friend of mine (also from Pittsburgh and an avid fan) took me to see them once at a small local dive and I was hooked then and there. They rocked the house. It struck me as odd at the time that such a good band was playing to just a couple of hundred people, if that. The show had the atmosphere of an after finals frat party and was way too much fun (well maybe I'm exaggerating a bit there). Since then, I've made every Clarks show I could and they've become kind of a well kept secret among the small contingent of fans around here, myself included. I feel pretty lucky not to have to deal with mega crowds like I imagine they are accustomed to in Pittsburgh. The Clarks still play the tiny local joints and occasionally do a nearby festival with other bands, and it's a real treat to see and hear their well honed brand of rock and roll in those smaller, more intimate settings. They are a secret we don't really want to give up, but it's starting to look like we're going to be forced to. In the past couple of years, The Clarks have been coming round less and less frequently. Unfortunately for us here in cowtown, it's because they've expanded the range of their touring into places like Baltimore, New York City and Chicago etc.. Places they haven't traditionally played. If you live in one of those places, it would be an excellent time to see them as they aren't well known (yet) and the crowd would likely be modest. In Pittsburgh however, The Clarks are widely acclaimed and their enormous fan base there is nothing short of rabid about them. If you live there, I'm telling you nothing you don't already know.
The Clarks released a new CD in June titled "Another Happy Ending". It's their second for their new label (Razor & Tie) and in a pleasant and unusual twist it seems that radio stations, even those outside of Pittsburgh, are starting to spin this one up. Up until now, I don't think I ever heard a Clarks tune on the radio, but now all of a sudden they're played quite often. This made me curious, so I started monitoring the CD on charts and radio playlists and was surprised (well actually not terribly so) to find them being played in some very unlikely places. That's great news for The Clarks, bad news for us fans. Now we gotta share 'em with the rest of the country. Rats, I'm afraid those rockin' little club shows might be a thing of the past soon. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to adjust to the sacrifice. But I am glad to see these 4 extremely talented musicians and songwriters and just plain down to earth good guys finally get some national attention after 15 years of dedicated work together. They deserve it. Although this CD is a top shelf effort, it won't go down as my all-time favorite Clarks production (which is probably 2000's "Let It Go"). However, my take on the new one is that it's the sort of album that is going to be lyrically and sonically very appealing to a wide audience. I think radio has figured this out too. Hook-laden pop rock easily digestible for anyone 10 years on up. But don't let the glossy pop sound on some of these new tracks fool you, I assure you The Clarks can and do rock with the best of them.
So do yourself a favor and stop in at their slick new website www.clarksonline.com and take a look and a listen. One of the songs getting radio attention is a pensive tune called "Hey You" and is the first one on their multimedia page. It's the entire track and worth checking out. This song is more mellow than typical Clarks fare so be sure to take in a couple of their live ones too, such as "Snowman" or "Better Off Without You". Better yet, get out and see them if you can. They won't disappoint.
For those of you near Chicago, The Clarks will be playing with Soul Asylum and Jesus Jones at Goose Island Brewerey on the 17th (Aug)
And heads-up Kent, they'll be playing The Edge Fest in Buffalo at Le Selle Park on the 25th (Aug) along with The Tea Party, The Riddlin Kids, Sugar Cult and The Sheila Divine. That should be a great show!
An interesting aside, while surfing playlists I happened to notice a couple of stations with HCTNFU and The Clarks in the same lineup. Here's one from Clinton, MO of all places http://www.klrq.com/playlist.htm (looks like a pretty good station!) and another one from right here in my backyard (http://www.913thesummit.com/playlist.htm)
Some reviews:
Bullz Eye
http://www.bullz-eye.com/cdreviews/theclarks-anotherhappyending.htm
Popmatters
http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/c/clarks-another.shtml
Best Buy Review
http://www.bbe.bestbuy.com//full_article_page.asp?a=25847629
Woohoo! All the way to #1 on the neohippy top 50 indie albums chart!
http://www.neohippy.net/topindies.htm
#2 at alt.addiction
http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/mostaddictive/top20singles.htm#Bottom
Tune into the Anna Nicole show on Sunday nights on E! - they play "Better off Without You" in the end credits
Direct link to www.clarksonline.com
