Everywhere I Go
The Lapsis Group, 2023
http://clearthing.bandcamp.com
REVIEW BY: Tom Haugen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 07/07/2023
The Los Angeles duo of Clear Thing make an impressive debut here as Ernest Gibson and Erik Frydenborg each play several instruments for a multi-faceted version of pop that’s gentle, ambitious and charmingly cautious.
“Rampage” begins the listen with warm, glowing percussive sounds, as very dreamy vocals enter the bare, psychedelic landscape, and “Back In The Air” follows with a similar haze that flows with a syrupy, hypnotic display that makes great use of guitar.
Further on into the listen, “Au Natural” focuses more on drumming alongside the playful, beat-driven climate, while “Morro Bay” recruits some Eastern ideas into the extremely light and airy delivery. “Escape Scene” occupies the middle spot, and it’s full of stylish, mesmerizing waves of melody and mood in atypical forms.
The second half of the listen is populated by the rhythmic and echoing voices of “The Wind,” as well as the jam band nods of the surreal “Lookaround,” which might be the best selection present.
“Big Nightime” and “The Way To Get Back” exit the listen, where the former makes great use of pocket sax, and the latter fades out with precise reverb that’s acutely stirring.
Gibson handles vocals, guitar, lap steel, bass, percussion, pocket sax, tapes and keyboards, while Frydenborg plays keyboards, synth, percussion, kalimba, glockenspiel and recorder. They both were formerly in Net Shaker, and as Clear Thing they don’t make any definable sounds, but linger somewhere near abstract pop that's full of unpredictable synth, frisky hand drums, focused riffs and sparing but effective use of everything else in their arsenal.
If you want to experience this first record physically, it will have to be on cassette, which is quite limited but does come with a download code. However you absorb it, though, be prepared for a very creative and blurry experience.
“Rampage” begins the listen with warm, glowing percussive sounds, as very dreamy vocals enter the bare, psychedelic landscape, and “Back In The Air” follows with a similar haze that flows with a syrupy, hypnotic display that makes great use of guitar.
Further on into the listen, “Au Natural” focuses more on drumming alongside the playful, beat-driven climate, while “Morro Bay” recruits some Eastern ideas into the extremely light and airy delivery. “Escape Scene” occupies the middle spot, and it’s full of stylish, mesmerizing waves of melody and mood in atypical forms.
The second half of the listen is populated by the rhythmic and echoing voices of “The Wind,” as well as the jam band nods of the surreal “Lookaround,” which might be the best selection present.
“Big Nightime” and “The Way To Get Back” exit the listen, where the former makes great use of pocket sax, and the latter fades out with precise reverb that’s acutely stirring.
Gibson handles vocals, guitar, lap steel, bass, percussion, pocket sax, tapes and keyboards, while Frydenborg plays keyboards, synth, percussion, kalimba, glockenspiel and recorder. They both were formerly in Net Shaker, and as Clear Thing they don’t make any definable sounds, but linger somewhere near abstract pop that's full of unpredictable synth, frisky hand drums, focused riffs and sparing but effective use of everything else in their arsenal.
If you want to experience this first record physically, it will have to be on cassette, which is quite limited but does come with a download code. However you absorb it, though, be prepared for a very creative and blurry experience.
© 2023 Tom Haugen and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of The Lapsis Group, and is used for informational purposes only.