Listen while you read:
After a few premature listen attempts, I finally got to soak in the new Inverted Clap album while taking the train to have dinner with Yuichi and Nakamura-san in Tokyo. More than others, this album really fits as a soundtrack to the chaos of Japanese transit.
Was this made for, or from, the constant movement and conflict of these Japanese streets and tunnels? Inverted Clap approach music with a “kitchen sink” approach. Each song phrase starts from a stylistic blank sheet. Guitar effects, singing, all out blasts, slow as mud sludge. Everything is an option and used in the right place.
The full effect echoes the chaos of the Japanese metropolis. Disparate parts, held together and orchestrated in an internally consistent harmony. The result is wholly unique. Inverted Clap doesn’t really sound like anyone else. While there are parts that have faint glimmers of Stubborn Father or Killie, the songs never linger on any one part long enough to stagnate.
I can’t help but feel the DNA of Gauge Means Nothing or Tetola93 here. While the inputs and influences are different, the formula is the same. Letting the song composition lead. When the song wants to go in an odd direction, go there with gusto. The endless novelty from this approach easily compensates for any parts that aren’t executed quite as well as they could be.
After their debut EP, and a split with Draw, this is the real, full album I’ve been waiting for. For a band like Inverted Clap, giving them the room to spread out and explore their sound in ten songs is exactly what they needed.
I’m not sure what physical medium this will be released on (for ppl who like physical media like myself), but the digital is available in bandcamp now, so what are you waiting for???