CST057 180gLP / CD
CLUES
Clues
Album reviews
This is a truly unmissable record standing out among a season of great albums. Montreal’s Clues have created a magnificent, off-kilter, decimated orchestral epic or a record…Each track on Clues presents something new and different, ever-shifting slightly in tone and style: bespoke and hand-wrought with emphatic care, yet each bearing the unmistakable loops and whorls of their gifted craftsmen.
SUBBA-CULTCHA
This album exudes an emotion, a specific sound that I’ve been looking for all my life…after experiencing this masterpiece from Clues, I sat there stunned, clicked back on the first track and took the musical journey over and over again. This album has perfectly planted twists, turns, and tempo changes, and the tone of the album, if plotted on a chart, would move rapidly up and down. This will ultimately hurt Clues, as I find it’s impossible to understand/fall in love with the album after one listen. It’s a tough album to crack and demands the listeners’ utmost attention. The album is strong start to finish, without a misstep or a track out of place. I urge you to give this album at least two listens all the way through…and if it’s not for you, then so be it. But in my mind this is one of the most important albums of the decade and demands the attention of anyone who is remotely interested in music. 10.0
WELISTENFORYOU (First-ever 10.0 rating!)
On their startling, intricate debut, Montreal’s Clues enter the alternate universe of the Flaming Lips for a blast of contemporary underground pop driven by angular arrangements and gritty noise. Sudden and unexpected, Clues lead listeners on in a glorious way.
EXCLAIM
The LP sparkles…From start to finish, Clues packs in surprises…‘In The Dream’ is delightfully unsettling and mysterious, and ‘Perfect Fit’ is a mini schizophrenic symphony with constantly changing tempos.
NPR
Certainement le meilleur disque montréalais depuis Funeral. 5/5
NIGHTLIFE MAGAZINE
Clues —the long-time-coming post-Unicorns outfit for Alden Penner, centered around he and one-time Arcade Fire drummer Brendan Reed— remind me of the ‘90s, but in a fashion that has nothing to do with hipster contrivance. This Clues record isn’t one that’s immediately gratifying, but one that rewards persistence and patience. Where current release schedules are clogged with immediately-pleasing, quickly-disposable blog-music, Clues have made an album that demands repeated listens. Which is probably its most ’90s-like quality of all.
ABOUT.COM
Those familiar with Penner won’t have to scrutinize this record all that closely to pick out connections to his past work. His instantly recognizable voice rings out on album opener “Haarp,” alternating between explosive shouts and fragile whispers before giving way to his signature riff-packed, melancholic guitar work. But, this isn’t a hollow rehash or cheap Unicorns imitation. While the music here may be, to some degree, in the same vein, the more obvious connective threads are merely glowing accents in a larger patchwork of sounds. Gone are the chintzy keyboards, silly call-and-response, and absurd, over-the-top antics. Yet, for what Clues may sacrifice in pure charm, they make up for with greater patience and maturity. Now teamed with co-songwriter Brendan Reed (formerly of Les Angles Morts and Arcade Fire), Penner’s compositions seem tempered to fit a more grandiose musical vision that does well to set itself apart from even the sizeable weight of either’s former bands. The more I listen to their eponymous debut, the more I’m convinced by their sound and Penner’s growth as a songwriter. There are no obvious compromises or overcompensations. Instead, it all feels very singular and organic…a difficult feat indeed.
TREBLEZINE
Every track sees their instruments brilliantly colliding, producing a meritorious record with exceptional tracks like “You Have My Eyes Now,” “Perfect Fit,” “Elope,” and “Crows.” Early as it may be, the Clues have definitely earned a spot on my favorite albums of 2009.
SHORT AND SWEET NYC
Rich and fulsome, exciting and extremely melodic…a standout album of 2009. No question.
OCEANS NEVER LISTEN
An eclectic mish-mash of styles and moods—not only from song to song, but even within the same tune, as Clues prefer non-linear structures to typical verse-chorus-verse patterns. It’s a perfect mix of catchy pop and off-the-wall weirdness, and a brilliant addition to the Montreal indie rock canon.
DISCORDER
Their debut LP makes pop fun again with morbid words pressed right up against fevered drums and watery guitars in a seductive dance of hooks and melody. There’s a strong element of fun throughout Clues, but it’s coupled with some impressive pop composition. I don’t want to throw the Beatles in this review, but some of the songwriting similarities are impossible to ignore. Like The White Album there’s no pop emotion Clues won’t play with. It’s nice to hear an album that’s so varied, yet so cohesive. Over time, Clues becomes a shower and a grower, with an emphasis of the latter.
THE NEEDLE DROP
Clues can do no wrong. Their eponymous album is a reflection of just that, their ability to create a palette of music that is reminiscent of early Unicorns, employing abrupt changes in a mosaic of instrumentation. Much of Clues album is like throwing a rhythmic gymnast into North Korea’s Demilitarized Zone. Several moments consist of elegant leaps and graceful spins but ultimately there is satisfaction to be found in the rain of bloody mist that ensues after a tragic misstep.
CA VA COOL
Constellation album description:
This is the wondrous debut record from Clues. Co-founders Alden Penner and Brendan Reed have been quietly nurturing this project in Montreal since the demise of their respective bands, Unicorns and Les Angles Morts. As a member of the short-lived Unicorns, Penner’s songwriting prowess was unveiled in a bright burst of mysterious and kaleidoscopic energy, in the form of a single full-length album (released in 2003) and countless live shows.
Penner’s voice, guitar and unique lyrical vision now guide Clues, with humble authority, originality and intent. Wedded to Reed’s superlative compositional and arranging acumen (and awesome drumming, among other instrumental skills) and abetted by multi-instrumentalists Ben Borden (Les Automates de Maxime de la Rochefoucauld), Lisa Gamble (Gambletron, Evangelista, Hrsta) and Nick Scribner (Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble), the band delivered sporadic and fantastic local performances through 2008. They then entered the Hotel2Tango studio (with Radwan Moumneh engineering) to lay down eleven songs in a feverish session during a Montreal winter deep freeze. The resulting album radiates a very special warmth and urgency, full of secrets, smiles, snarls and sing-a-longs.
This debut record yields one undeniable tune after another. It is one of those albums that coheres effortlessly in spite of the restless energy and distinct identity of each song – nothing ever really sounds or stays the same, but neither are there any forced spastics or facile schizophrenics. Forged from postpunk, no-wave and psych influences, Clues compose a rare breed of complex pop anthems that consistently inscribe their own perfect limits, without overreaching and without pandering. The overriding aesthetic avoids ornate decadence and stringent economy in equal measure. An authentic, unfussy and stirringly epic little sonic world unfolds: idiosyncratic and enigmatic, but exuberantly infectious and approachable.
Clues offer up a highly original, intensely committed and hugely satisfying definition of indie rock and we are genuinely thrilled to be shepherding it into world.