by Allen Hale (@concretetunnels)
Emerging from Boston’s indie rock sphere, Clifford’s second full-length Golden Caravan perhaps most readily resembles the work of fellow Bay-Staters like Horse Jumper of Love. Whereas the latter incorporates shoegaze elements into their downtempo slacker style, Clifford infuses an array of influences that are frequently acted out with bone-dry distortion. The range of their languidity makes for a compelling take on somewhat familiar indie territories without any gaps in the tracklist, four full years after their debut hit the shelves.
Lead single “Ink Blot,” the third song of the album, is the first wakeup call signaling the group’s sonic diversity. With shouted vocals and crunchy guitars, the gloomy performance almost veers into grunge. The melancholy follow-up “Gifthorse” is perhaps a tongue-in-cheek reference to their better-known scene-mates, while the title track’s subsequent country-inflected guitar playing and plodding drums set some distance from identifiable inspirations.
Elsewhere, the group tinkers with their vocal variety, incorporating spacey harmonies on “Trackstarr” and some particularly wispy delivery on “U Look Like,” the latter of which resembles a hammed-up Duster. “C Song” and its slow-rocking waves of fuzz echo similarly, playing with dissonance through climbing-descending guitar lines that induce some imbalance on a track otherwise suited for unhurried, full-body oscillation. On the other hand, “Exaltation Forms” and its half-sung half-spoken intonations resemble the frayed edges of post-punk’s more manic proclivities, deliberately contrasting with the phantom prettiness of its alternating sections.
Closing with “Sugar Pill,” Clifford reinforce a few of these tendencies into one bittersweet, acoustic-driven send-off, with complimentary guitar prickliness humming like a worn-out radiator. For what can otherwise be a forlorn approach speaking to songwriters’ feelings of dejection or isolation, the dual-singing slowcore glimmers here with faint warmth found across the LP. With an effort like this, the dedicated, localized audience that Clifford commands is sure to expand soon.