Clark - Totems Flare

Ace, you're a star. Thanks for the upload !

I am the only person who absolutely doesn't get this? I'm honestly not being negative for the sake of it - I did try to like it.

I'm a big fan of Empty the Bones of You and Body Riddle, but this just gets more irritating and soulless with every listen I give to it. I find the dominant synth sound that runs all the way through it highly annoying, overbearing, and overused. Gone are the emotive textural elements and intricate rhythmical flourishes which make Clark's music special - in their place seems to be a constant "distorted element", fairly basic beats (not that I want Druqks-esque madness, but something a bit more intricate wouldn't have gone amiss) and thoughtless, sudden changes (I'm all for unpredictability, but for some reason it just doesn't work here as it has worked in the past.) And no, I don't like the "big" synth melodies, nor the tacking sounding sequencer elements: just because it's big and brazen and it has a big, brazen thudding beats thrashing away to it, doesn't mean it is good. The vocal tracks had potential - as a fan of the surreal, of Tim Exile's singing (mostly), and even the silly Mighty Boosh songs, I could have liked them - but again, something falls a bit flat about them.

There's not much variety here, either. It seems go thus: hint at big synth melody, do some pissing about, then bring in the big synth melody properly, with a shit load of ugly distortion. Throw in some sudden changes here and there and everywhere and make it a bit messy and that's it. This thing has no sense of dynamics, very little sense of flow, and is utterly lacking in subtlety. And everything is overcompressed to a degree that is shocking even for Clark.

But I will keep trying.

the primary beat on track one has an autechre-ian vibe about it. is that what a garage pattern is, how it's hurried, w/emphasis on the kick? reminds me of the Plc, or the early part of the Pontins set. like autechre heavy on cosmetics

  On 7/19/2009 at 1:06 PM, Lianne said:

I am the only person who absolutely doesn't get this? I'm honestly not being negative for the sake of it - I did try to like it.

 

I'm a big fan of Empty the Bones of You and Body Riddle, but this just gets more irritating and soulless with every listen I give to it. I find the dominant synth sound that runs all the way through it highly annoying, overbearing, and overused. Gone are the emotive textural elements and intricate rhythmical flourishes which make Clark's music special - in their place seems to be a constant "distorted element", fairly basic beats (not that I want Druqks-esque madness, but something a bit more intricate wouldn't have gone amiss) and thoughtless, sudden changes (I'm all for unpredictability, but for some reason it just doesn't work here as it has worked in the past.) And no, I don't like the "big" synth melodies, nor the tacking sounding sequencer elements: just because it's big and brazen and it has a big, brazen thudding beats thrashing away to it, doesn't mean it is good. The vocal tracks had potential - as a fan of the surreal, of Tim Exile's singing (mostly), and even the silly Mighty Boosh songs, I could have liked them - but again, something falls a bit flat about them.

 

There's not much variety here, either. It seems go thus: hint at big synth melody, do some pissing about, then bring in the big synth melody properly, with a shit load of ugly distortion. Throw in some sudden changes here and there and everywhere and make it a bit messy and that's it. This thing has no sense of dynamics, very little sense of flow, and is utterly lacking in subtlety. And everything is overcompressed to a degree that is shocking even for Clark.

 

But I will keep trying.

i get most of what you are saying and i thought otherwise BEFORE i listened to this LP on real bass heavy speakers. I almost listened to the whole thing originally on my laptop and thought it was quite excellent, but was missing tons of the frequencies via the tiny speakers. What i didn't realize on that first listen is that there was this heavy and homogenous distortion/compression/eq curve put on practically every track.

After only about 2 more listens i am kind of burnt out on this album, it makes me want to go back and rediscover Boddy Riddle and Turning Dragon.

well written critique, it's too often people will just say 'shit sucks' or 'this is the greatest album ever made i orgasm every time i hear 2 seconds of it' thanks for writing something honest coming from a fan

agree with previous opinions, decent album but a bit too much filler

growls garden seems the most well thought out track, too many of the others get too close to 'hehe woah wacky synths ardcore drums LOL xD' without any redeeming features. production is excellent in general if lacking any dynamics whatsoever

  On 7/20/2009 at 2:30 PM, Mesh Gear Fox said:

As usual I think you should all let the album settle a bit before you make any serious judgements. Time changes these kind of things.

This is why I haven't written my review yet.

Good call.

  Quote

This is why I haven't written my review yet.

Pitchfork did.

Another cringeworthy review from those fucking hipster twats at pitchfork. They fail to realease that their words and sentences amount to absolutely fuck all. The cunts should be hung then shot.

  On 7/19/2009 at 1:06 PM, Lianne said:

I am the only person who absolutely doesn't get this? I'm honestly not being negative for the sake of it - I did try to like it.

 

I'm a big fan of Empty the Bones of You and Body Riddle, but this just gets more irritating and soulless with every listen I give to it. I find the dominant synth sound that runs all the way through it highly annoying, overbearing, and overused. Gone are the emotive textural elements and intricate rhythmical flourishes which make Clark's music special - in their place seems to be a constant "distorted element", fairly basic beats (not that I want Druqks-esque madness, but something a bit more intricate wouldn't have gone amiss) and thoughtless, sudden changes (I'm all for unpredictability, but for some reason it just doesn't work here as it has worked in the past.) And no, I don't like the "big" synth melodies, nor the tacking sounding sequencer elements: just because it's big and brazen and it has a big, brazen thudding beats thrashing away to it, doesn't mean it is good. The vocal tracks had potential - as a fan of the surreal, of Tim Exile's singing (mostly), and even the silly Mighty Boosh songs, I could have liked them - but again, something falls a bit flat about them.

 

There's not much variety here, either. It seems go thus: hint at big synth melody, do some pissing about, then bring in the big synth melody properly, with a shit load of ugly distortion. Throw in some sudden changes here and there and everywhere and make it a bit messy and that's it. This thing has no sense of dynamics, very little sense of flow, and is utterly lacking in subtlety. And everything is overcompressed to a degree that is shocking even for Clark.

 

But I will keep trying.

:o

but did you listen to future daniel?

also, fuck pitchfork. allmusic knows what's up. amg album pick son!

pitchfork is an embarrassment when it comes to electronic music. pathetic.

what is that by the way?

seems to use unreleased music

wow, that's an amazingly pretentious review - even by bitchfork standards

that is a horrific review. how can you say "His specialty is the cataclysmic anthem, cobbled together from homemade break beats, glitchy jags of Euro- and acid-house, pockets of concussive noise, honeycombed synth lines, and contoured masses of distortion, all piled up in lunging heaps of coarse texture." and then go on with such insight like "...his cyber-Teutonic turn on "Rainbow Voodoo" is a bit silly."

I don't really know what either sentence means.

f pitchfork. this album is killer.

It lacks a certain tenderness or reticence, and there's no implication of a compact with the listener, an assurance that this inhospitable space is ultimately for their pleasure.

  On 7/21/2009 at 10:24 AM, o00o said:

what is that by the way?

 

 

seems to use unreleased music

Seems to be some sort of avant dance performance. HELD

Clark seems to know the woman as she is in his Top Friends on Myspace. Her page is where I found the video. (myspace.com/projectwan)

Here's another one entitled RIDDLE I don't think Clark does the music in this one despite it being called Riddle lol but it's interesting in a pretentious art-snob kinda way.

I haven't heard the album yet, but I did read that pitchfork review and was completely dumbfounded by it. I'm kind of surprised they allowed it to be published. Writing like that should not be allowed anywhere, except on sites that are making fun of review sites that write like that.

  On 7/21/2009 at 4:36 PM, encey said:

It lacks a certain tenderness or reticence, and there's no implication of a compact with the listener, an assurance that this inhospitable space is ultimately for their pleasure.

fuckin lol

Wow. Pitchcock just made another incredibly verbose and shitty review.

Allmusic, while dubious in theirown regards (check out their absurd review of the Paris Hilton album), did give a fair score to Totems Flare. I've listened to it to death throughout this whole summer in Europe, and it still remains solid. 4 stars out of 5 is a fair grade in my book.

i also just realized that dude gave the album a 5.9. not a 6. 5.9. hahah. god what a douche

I absolutely adore certain parts of tracks, and then they quickly devolve into shit. In each track, I am incredibly interested in different sections of 20 seconds or so (except for Totem Crackerjack, which I like everything in, except the good parts should go on longer). From the way the tracks are formed, I think he may have made most of these in one incredibly inspired week or something.

Well I've only listened to this 3 times, but I have to say that anyone saying this is the future of electronic music, or is pushing boundaries, is ummm, I don't want to say anything perjorative....

There are some good tracks on here, Growl's Garden is obviously goodness, as are Absence, and Future Daniel. Totem Crackerjack is good and would be even better if he took out the bit from 2:20-2:47. I dunno who's trying to compare this track to squarepusher, but there ain't no editing/retriggering goodness like Tom does. Look Into the Heart Now would definitely benefit from some dynamics. Suns of Temper is another that would benefit form some dynamics.

Talis sounds like a bad EBM track with too much distortion. Rainbow Voodoo is a nice attempt, but the end solo is annoying as fuck. Outside Plume and Luxman Furs are just meh...

Overall, he had a really solid EP here.

It's no Body Riddle though. I haven't heard Turning Dragon, so can't compare.

this is the greatest album ever made i orgasm every time i hear 2 seconds of it

I'm not going to bother reading this 29 pg. thread, but I will assume a lot of you, not everybody, but a lot are fapping over it.

5.9/10

Also, I'd like to state that I haven't enjoyed anything, thoroughly, from Clark since the Chris Clark days.

  On 7/22/2009 at 5:57 AM, chenGOD said:

Well I've only listened to this 3 times, but I have to say that anyone saying this is the future of electronic music, or is pushing boundaries, is ummm, I don't want to say anything perjorative....

 

There are some good tracks on here, Growl's Garden is obviously goodness, as are Absence, and Future Daniel. Totem Crackerjack is good and would be even better if he took out the bit from 2:20-2:47. I dunno who's trying to compare this track to squarepusher, but there ain't no editing/retriggering goodness like Tom does. Look Into the Heart Now would definitely benefit from some dynamics. Suns of Temper is another that would benefit form some dynamics.

Talis sounds like a bad EBM track with too much distortion. Rainbow Voodoo is a nice attempt, but the end solo is annoying as fuck. Outside Plume and Luxman Furs are just meh...

Overall, he had a really solid EP here.

It's no Body Riddle though. I haven't heard Turning Dragon, so can't compare.

I agree with everything you've said here. I want to like this album, and I want to dismiss these things and just get on with riding along with it, but they're just big enough to ruin it for me. Things that shouldn't go on do go on for too long, and other things that sound bloody excellent disappear before you can even enjoy them properly, or get messed up and distorted just as you're getting into them. Even Future Daniel, lovely as it is, doesn't quite hit the sweet spot for me: right before it goes into distortion, there's a repeat of the main theme I would have so loved to go on a bit, especially as the bass seems to kick in proper at this point. But it doesn't.

The solo in Rainbow Voodoo is indeed especially awful; I'm actually sometimes partial to overblown, cheesy solos, and also to 8-bit melodious theatrics, but Clark's in that track is just a bit awful. And it goes on and on and on.

Obviously, this is in no way a bad album. It's a good album. The production is mostly excellent, even if it is compressed and limited to hell, and there's imaginative ideas and sound design in there. Some of the melodies are also pleasingly euphoric (though others are a bit bland or obvious for me). It's still the worst Clark album I've heard, though. Well, it's a tie between this and Turning Dragon - though that one had some tracks that were seriously shit hot. I'm not worried though... Body Riddle and Empty the Bones of You are so special that I doubt we won't hear some great stuff from Clark soonish.