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| photos courtesy of Clay Birds. |
Hello, everyone, Ivan here. I have returned half-dead but alive enough to review this beautiful EP, a separation from vanity by Clay Birds for you all. I’m several days late (sorry Foster) but I will do this review justice because Clay Birds is a world class band. This EP demonstrates their growth as artists and musicians, in addition to new production that better realizes the fury of their live performances.
an intuition of morality kicks things off with clicky harmonies between palm-muted guitars that erupt in a verse led by guitarist and vocalist Sam. Between urgent cries are Aron’s beautiful saturated lead lines, and the verse resolves in a dialogue between the guitars that opens up to one of my absolute favorite moments on the EP. Jack’s signature precise but chaotic drums frenzy, ebb, and flow while bassist Italy sings bittersweet melodies over the emo-influenced clean guitars. It’s this moment of serenity that bleeds into a rebellious youthful outro that exemplifies why Clay Birds is a band of an entire generation. That they’re able to toe the line between this abrasive skramz sound and these beautiful moments of introspection that sort of transcend genre... They’re not particularly emo, not particularly skramz, not particularly anything, but they’re definitely Clay Birds.
to my dearly departed brings the dynamics back down with a heavenly intro marked with hall reverb that almost reminds me of something like May This Be Love by Jimi Hendrix or an Explosions In The Sky song. It wears post-rock and early 2000s post-punk revival influences on its sleeve, but its also something new and distinct. Italy begins the chorus with a beautiful hook followed by Aron’s harrowed cries. This song features so much space and distance, which is quite the contrast to the maximalism typical of the genre now. It stops and starts to allow the lead vocals to shine through. “Back in November, that’s where it started / You’re safe my dear, dearly departed / Fall to my knees show where my heart is away from fear / Dearly departed.” The track concludes in a brightly ascendent, shepherd-like melody before sombering out.
to sell our fire would be the ultimate defeat opens with a 90s post-hardcore influenced intro where feedback leads into hi-hat grooves and a foundation of open chord arpeggios before Sam starts lamenting over jittery guitars. Jack effortlessly guides the track from section to section, utilizing all of their excellent control over dynamics, which I think sets them apart from most drummers in the country, and even the world. The outro of the song culminates in an excellent display of this between blasts of the band and delicate melody lines.
infinite regress is another track marking the band's departure from a typical skramz sound and utilizing the wide range of influences they possess. That’s not to say their previous record, Bled Out and Painted Blue didn’t, but here the other influences from shoegaze, post-punk, and post-rock are now cranked to full tilt--completely level with the skramz sound. It’s an exciting direction in a genre that is now becoming very derivative of itself and a victim of its increasing popularity. It opens with call and response vocals that soothe any psychic wounds over a tranquil drone. Jack then absolutely shreds this thing before it opens up to a nursing melody. It feels like this phrase in Japanese, “Komorebi (木漏れ日) is a Japanese word referring to the beautiful phenomenon of sunlight filtering through tree leaves, creating a dappled, flickering light effect”. That’s how this whole record feels, if sunlight and hope were screamo.
everything, everything, as the title suggests, is the perfect conclusion to this EP. It combines all of the newly fleshed-out elements of Clay Birds in one magnificent transcendent track. Clean vocals come out swinging with the rhythm section, supported by a desperate vocal performance from Aron. It almost reminds me of Fleshwater, though that feels like low-hanging fruit before a holy bridge with insane vocal production. It’s here on this track I don’t think I’m crazy making the May This Be Love by Jimi Hendrix comparison earlier, as an incredibly beautiful lead part weaves tranquillity in a very similar way to the solo from that song. Then the track erupts back into a controlled chaos where Sam exorcizes grief with Aron. The song cuts to a jazzy bridge. “Sooner than later / The time is now,” precedes an icarus tremolo blast to the sky. The outro harmonies of flickering light guitars almost reminds me of Palm.
Clay Birds have already cemented themselves as a band of a generation with Bled Out And Painted Blue, but with this record, I’m excited to see what other trailblazing records they’ll carve out. They breathe a unique life into a melodramatic and increasingly derivative genre, and further defy genre, which is the hallmark of truly great art.
10/10
Stream a separation from vanity.
-Ivan
Also see them on tour with Werethecurrency in July.
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