Review Summary: Finding Clarity in the madness...
Finding the fine line of enjoyment in unconvention is a problem that plagues countless artists in the fray of experimental and alternative music. For a scene that more often than not sees artists suffering mediocrity from overindulging in oddball compositions, hearing an artist like Clarence Clarity is almost like a breath of fresh air. Clarence explores a world of complete chaos with schizophrenic production and dark, sinister melodies that are offensive, irreverent, and dare I say, completely original with
No Now. This 20 track behemoth shows Clarence completely embrace every unconventional aspect of music possible and carry the energy of his ideals and aesthetics whilst never sounding bogged down by them at all.
What makes
No Now an outstanding album is how often Clarence defies expectations with his tracks. Each track carries a catchy dance vibe with a fine taste of crunchy, layered synths, and snappy drums with Clarence’s bright and charismatic vocals, but then Clarence will go out of his way to intentionally derail the track with barrages of harsh noise, off sounding string and synth arrangements, or flat out stopping tracks halfway through their run before picking up again. The more interesting aspects of the album come out with Clarence’s schizophrenic presentation, finding new ways to make every track stick out with bustling energy and madness. Tracks like
Those Who Can’t, Cheat,
The Gospel Truth, and
Off My Grid boom with dark and sinister arrangements with Clarence frantically singing off his lines while others like
With No Fear and
One Hand Washes the Other show a more ballad driven side to Clarence. While Clarence finds new ground with each track, they all carry similarities that make the album feel whole with the regular appearance of Egyptian inspired instrumentals and a completely insane drive through the entire album on the last half of closing track
With No Fear when each track skips by into complete silence.
Though there are instances where Clarence can get obnoxious, his overly enthusiastic vocals in a track like
Meadow Hopping, Traffic Stopping, Death Smash gets annoying as it drags on and the bright, blaring synths that reverberate through
Cancer in the Water alongside Clarence’s repetitive belting gets grating the longer it moves on. Also, for an album that goes on for over an hour, the immense amount of interludes that bridge almost every track feel completely unnecessary. Thankfully, these are only minor issues in an album brimming with unforgettable highlights. Clarity Clarence’s schizophrenic style and eye for contagiously gritty melodies creates an incredibly solid and enjoyable, albeit hard to digest, RnB record.
