• Clem Snide – The Ghost Of Fashion

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    Archive Posted On July 1, 2001
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    Clem Snide formed in New Jersey in the early 90s, a full-bore punk band that gradually eased toward an edgy roots/country sound. By its 1998 debut, You Were a Diamond, the bands transformation from Replacements-tinged howl to Wilco-esque whisper was complete.

    With their third album, The Ghost Of Fashion, guitarist/songwriter Eef Barzelay and company mature into the William Burroughs reference of their name with stilted guitars, wheezing horns and Beat-poet lyric pretzels to form a compelling and surreal electric country carnival of the damned. Clem Snides most endearing and obvious qualities are showcased on Dont Be Afraid of Your Anger, a dark Neil-Young-meets-Nick-Drake alt-country waltz, and The Curse Of Great Beauty/Joan Jett Of Arc, which forces John Cale and Hank Williams to coexist comfortably in the same arrangement.

    Barzelay is an forceful writer, no matter how gently he presents his songs. His lyrics are achingly confessional and densely obtuse, set to a soundtrack that is influenced equally by country and folk, post-modern rock, and Dust Bowl balladry; the resulting songs are seductively intimate as well as unashamedly impenetrable.




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