Damn, I’m late on this one, it was released back in January when things were somewhat normal but better late than never. Anyway, when I first heard ‘Confused‘ by Melbourne punks Clamm, the waves of feedback and growling Stooges guitar caught my attention pretty quickly. Lyrically “I’m confused about, well almost everything” and “I’m done, I’m fucking done” makes this pretty much the theme song of 2020.
Clamm’s debut album ‘Beseech Me‘ has an IDLES menace and brashness to it and covers similar territory with tracks about anti-violence, materialism, mental health, and the state of modern Australia.
Musically, Clamm plays heavy, noisy, snarling guitar-centered punk. It’s a sonic formula with a Stooges garage rock template that also sounds rooted in dark post-punk (I envision Clamm doing a wicked cover of Bauhaus’ ‘Dark Entries‘). There’s even a hint of Discharge heaviness to the riff on the title track. In fact, all the way through there are some gold-medal riffs from Jack Summers (Gamjee; Dragoons), like on opener ‘Liar‘ and the confrontational ‘Dog‘.
On ‘Beseech Me‘ Clamm put on a clinic for feedback-laden noise punk and over the 10 tracks, demonstrate the emotional and physical power of music.
Drummer Miles Harding (also from Gamjee and Dragoons) is joined by bassist Luke Scott on the album but he has since been replaced by Maisie Everett (Belair Lip Bombs).
