Clark - Sus Dog (new album)

Interesting podcast from just the other day with Clark on how he bleeps

Description on Bleep:

After Clark developed his lyrical and vocal abilities on his landmark album Sus Dog, his newfound passion for singing has taken on a life of its own, undergoing countless transformations like any of the vibrant sounds he has created thus far. The leadup to that record saw him leaving a “bread crumb trail to future releases” via tantalising snippets of remixes, experiments, and alternate takes, and since its release in May, these edits and versions have had time to blossom into a fully fledged album of their own.

Cave Dog amplifies the many rave energies of its predecessor, while also zooming into the immense space hiding between those frenzied moments. Clark’s vocals creep at the edges of more instrumental reworks, then surround them in 360 degree layers. The introductory pair of ‘Vardo’ and ‘Silver Pet Crank’ are a total overhaul right off the bat: the lyrics of ‘Town Crank’ are thrust into a more curious concoction of gently lacerating synth arpeggios “falling off the edge” into a thumping trancelike rhythm, thrumming with strobe light energy as punctuating breakbeats take a left turn into rich low harmonies.

The album’s first half is a display of kinetic soundsmithery, like the assembly of synth timbres and melodic pirouettes on ‘Dolgoch Dry As Ash’, or the propulsive four to the floor of ‘Medicine Doves’ tossing harp plucks hither and thither. Its cavernous reverb throws descend into the snarling depths of chamber arrangements, hinting at a comedown from the furore with Cave Dog’s latter tracks, full of rotating piano compositions and avalanches of chorally textured ambience. Dramatic freezes of strings reframe Thom Yorke’s vocals in ‘Oblivious/Portal’, while Clark’s throttle is blurred, smoked, and submerged, highlighting the deep catharsis and trust that Sus Dog was evoking all along.

Cave Dog isn’t so much a remix album as it is a further honing of Clark’s craft, and a trip through his musical multiverse.

There were so many good snippets that he was posting prior to sus dog - looking forward to this for sure. 

  On 11/7/2023 at 11:04 AM, Mattthegoone said:

 

Interesting podcast from just the other day with Clark on how he bleeps

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listened to this a couple days ago, good chat, but all pre-Sus Dog. the host (Mylar Melodies guy, i believe?) mentions in the intro and as well during the interview that Clark is 'signed to Warp Records' and Chris never corrects him during the interview, but seemed to push it to the side almost...so maybe just didn't want to talk about it? or maybe that's still up in the air?

  On 11/7/2023 at 1:32 PM, auxien said:

listened to this a couple days ago, good chat, but all pre-Sus Dog. the host (Mylar Melodies guy, i believe?) mentions in the intro and as well during the interview that Clark is 'signed to Warp Records' and Chris never corrects him during the interview, but seemed to push it to the side almost...so maybe just didn't want to talk about it? or maybe that's still up in the air?

I don't think we'll ever know wether or not he's still signed to Warp. Every reviewer and interviewer still refers to him as a Warp mainstay but he isn't present on the roster of active artists when you go onto the Warp website.

Anyway new track is good!

  On 11/7/2023 at 1:55 PM, thumbass said:

Anyway new track is good!

yeah it's not bad, and cool if you're liking it.

to me it sounds like a mashup of a few other Clark tracks and the same little elbow-in-the-rib teases he's done before, felt kinda bland because of that. not bad energy once it kicks up but sorta just came across as him going through the motions, to me at least.

  On 11/7/2023 at 2:04 PM, auxien said:

to me it sounds like a mashup of a few other Clark tracks and the same little elbow-in-the-rib teases he's done before, felt kinda bland because of that. not bad energy once it kicks up but sorta just came across as him going through the motions, to me at least.

Absolutely on the same page - Like a track AI would create if fed with previous Clark tracks. Fine enough track but even though it was the first time I'd heard it, it felt like I had already listened to that track dozens of times before !

  On 11/7/2023 at 2:16 PM, mcbpete said:

Absolutely on the same page - Like a track AI would create if fed with previous Clark tracks. Even though it was the first time I'd heard it I felt like I had already listened to that track dozens of times before !

lol I had the same feeling. I will stop judging his releases before they come out. I preordered Sus Dog and The Last Panters and never listened to them again. I will not do it again this time. 

It only got published the other day but I think it was recorded in 2022 when he was still on Warp, or licensing to Warp, not sure what the craic is now

You guys and gals should be way more enthusiastic about this. Proper stripped down ClarkTM banger versions of the LP somewhere between Totems Flare and Boddy Riddle. I'm reaaally liking this except the ambient ending, which is not bad but just like Clark's film music not for me.

  On 11/10/2023 at 1:10 PM, tokn said:

the ambient ending, which is not bad but just like Clark's film music not for me.

is it anything like Life Outro from Playground in a Lake? that's one of my favorites of his!

  On 11/7/2023 at 11:04 AM, Mattthegoone said:

 

Interesting podcast from just the other day with Clark on how he bleeps

Expand  

This was a really down to earth interview, he seems very reasonable and makes total sense in what he says, very direct and open interview, definitely no speaking in riddles.

Its out, some of these reworks might be better than the originals! This is great

  On 12/1/2023 at 10:13 AM, thumbass said:

Its out, some of these reworks might be better than the originals! This is great

"lush"

I'm enjoying it thus far.

  On 12/1/2023 at 10:13 AM, thumbass said:

Its out, some of these reworks might be better than the originals! This is great

This is excellent stuff!! Big fan of the first third and the back third. I'm sure I'm an outlier but I love alot of Clark's ambient/beatless stuff, so the later tracks are really doin' it for me.

Has anyone here been to his latest tour? With his recent releases I had incredibly low expectation and was somewhat expecting the show would be meh

I’ve been to every tour since the self titled release, and this latest one really surprised me. He went pretty hard with techno and break stuff in the last 1/3rd of the show 

Ended with future daniel as well 

Going to see him in dublin next month not sure what to expect he was amazing last time I saw him, good 10 years ago now probably

  On 2/9/2024 at 1:01 AM, Mattthegoone said:

Going to see him in dublin next month not sure what to expect he was amazing last time I saw him, good 10 years ago now probably

 

 

If you’re like me you’ll enjoy it. But then again I have no idea how his shows were like 10 years ago  I started seeing clark only after moving to Europe, zero chance before that 

Berlin/amen clark > sus clark

part of me hoped that this would be Clark remixes of the Total Annihilation game score tbh

Clark was ridiculously good tonight played fuck all off suss dog so prob wrong thread

Honestly love both sus dog and cave dog and think both are the best work he’s done since Iradelphic. Anyways regardless of what he played I hope it was a great show!

  On 11/7/2023 at 1:55 PM, thumbass said:

I don't think we'll ever know wether or not he's still signed to Warp. Every reviewer and interviewer still refers to him as a Warp mainstay but he isn't present on the roster of active artists when you go onto the Warp website.

 

Anyway new track is good!

I thought it was obvious when he said he got fired from warp due to "creative differences" or whatever and then made a track of a similar name...?

Alas of course I can't find the posts so either they were deleted or I am remembering it wrong.

Lol would that be the 'Branding Problem' single, the timelines match up.