Clinic

 Liverpool’s Clinic is one of the most strangely reliable groups out there—reliable in that a template was established early, and strange in that the template is all over the place. A typical Clinic album zigzags among snarling garage-rock thrash, honeyed British folk, and vehicles for Ade Blackburn’s floating melodica and slinky organ. Bubblegum, the band’s latest, has a slightly more homogenous sound; it’s a more sharply etched version of 2004’sWinchester Cathedral, which leaned more on the band’s slow, pretty (and sleepy) side. The arrangements draw the ear more than mush-mouthed puzzlers like “No imitations, no one is vacant,” but in spite of the obvious artiness, Clinic’s music has a lived-in warmth that matches its skill.

Updated 10/21/2010