Customer Reviews

Cedars

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If, like me, you are interested in delving deeper into the indie / electonic genre this this might be for you. I actually found them while looking for stuff on "South" and these were recommmended, and how right that recommendation was.

OK, this band have been influenced by all things British; The Smiths, Radiohead, Longpigs immediately spring to mind. Would we dare use this sound and claim to be original? They have, and they've done a good job.

"Almost The Same", "Can't Feel A Thing", "Come into the Darkness" undulate from crunching guitar and melodic acoustic sounds, while "Mind is Evil" and "Keep Smiling" combine the somber melodies of Ben and Jason with a hint every-so-often of the Beatles's use of strings to remind you once more of a britpop era past.

With "Wonder if the snow will settle" you'll swear you know from somewhere (Beatles perhaps?), but it never gives you the satisfacion of recollection, perhaps therefore, it's no suprise this was my favourite track.

If albums from Elbow or the Longpigs grace your collection then you'll recognise the connection to "I'd like to Hurt you" (haunting and flavoured with great bass sounds), "Just off the coast" (fantastic guitar riff to this track, and wet drum sounds), "Treat Yourself with Kindness" (vocals glide over the top of a wave of anthemic guitar - not unlike the old days of Radiohead).

This album is not for playing before you go out. Many have commented that it's airs on the negative side, but so what? they have something to say and I think people will listen.

First time I listened, I was not so impressed. Clearlake seemed to be a run of the mill British rock band. I let "Cedars" sit for a week or so and came back to it. The first song that grabbed me was "I'd like to hurt you" which is such a sinister, but beautiful song. After I warmed up to that song, the rest of the album quickly followed. I'm quite taken with it now! I can't remember getting a similar vibe of darkness that doesn't make me want to run, but "Cedars" wraps me up in it like a warm blanket and makes me feel at home. This album is hardly "garbage" as one of the reviewers put it. Compare "Cedars" to "A rush of blood to the head" and you'll see really quickly where the true garbage lies. "Cedars" is a well played, well written, sincere album that is one of my personal favorites this year.

After spending some good time with Cedars (and the rest of the Clearlake catalog), this band reminds me of a time when Blur's Modern Life Is Rubbish was released and adored. Clearlake's material reminds you fondly of Blur B-sides from the Rubbish/Parklife era, topped off with the electronic spin of say, Grandaddy. This should be an easy purchase for a South (absolutely), Doves (lost souls), Grandaddy, or early Blur fan. Their first album got slammed by allmusic.com - Again, could not disagree more. Both are very easy listens.

Domino four-piece Clearlake call the same Sussex coast home, and sound like the sort of kids in shivering shorts whose skin thickened from playground pushes. But instead of marveling under the iron ribs of St. Pancras or hunting Cornish abbeys - Clearlake construct their own echoing places of worship in Cedars, with some help from the Cocteau Twins' Simon Raymonde.

With the band's arcane 2001 debut, Lido, behind him, lyricist Jason Pegg clouds his nostalgia with fear and devilry. As drums clap like pew-kneelers under buttresses of strings on "The Mind Is Evil", Pegg warns like a grimacing choirboy, "it makes me do all those unspeakable things." This veiling of coal-colored sentiment in majestic settings runs through every track. In "Keep Smiling", the lines "Just nod your head accordingly and do the opposite of anything they tell you" mirror Thom Yorke's Hail to the Thief manifesto, but Pegg's de-politicized subversion strikes harder-- as unlike Yorke's reaction against the obvious, with his willingness to point the finger inward to less-admittable wickedness. Elsewhere, processional whipcracks of percussion and paint-chipped baby grands drive him to admit "I wouldn't hurt a fly, but I'd really like to punish you" on "I'd Like to Hurt You", suggesting that any of us can snap under pressure-- whether that pressure results from government, the anxious Zeitgeist, or ex-girlfriends, Pegg doesn't say, but the universal ambiguity of his sentiments injects the music with a raw and timeless nature.

Throughout Cedars, Clearlake continually find beauty in melancholy and melancholy behind beauty, while raising your hairs in reverence with occasional guitar squalls. Murals of feedback, keyboards, and chanting close in around "Come into the Darkness". As Pegg inverts the Golden Rule into a mantra of selfish motivation on "Treat Yourself with Kindness", lurching chords burst up the walls like shadows springing in sudden bold bars of light through stained glass. The drama segues into the closing hymn of "Trees in the City", where hope is found in the resilient growth of greenery in a smoky metropolis.

The British love to honor through a lacerating wit. It seems almost as if modernity is tolerated only with the thought that one day humanity will lose and the English countryside will expel the scars of society. Clearlake fit into this tradition as true patriots. Cedars towers in the tradition of the best British art.

This very well may be the best album I have ever listened to. Much tighter and more musically refined, it shows a development of the talent evident in 2001's "Lido." If you're looking for some pop-ish background music, don't waste your money; this album plays like a symphony. For those familiar with clinical depression, you'll notice that each song builds on the theme of that disease, focusing on its individual aspects, rather than just vague alt-rock expressions of mopeyness. And as each song encapsulates a specific moment and idea, their careful order creates a broader emotional understanding of the artists' message as a whole, the tracks receding in volume then rushing back like a wave. It culminates in a three-song opus: beginning in quiet dispair ("It's all too much"), building to the emotional climax of "Treat yourself with kindess," and concluding an otherwise very hopeless album with the thoroughly cathartic simplicity of "Trees in the city." Whether the chords are complex or simple, the instruments on "Cedars" are pared to their most minimal, each note ringing true, clear, and adding a vital aspect to the song. Yet, like a classical composition, its many layers combine seamlessly so it can also be appreciated purely as a beautiful work of music. I recommend listening to this the first couple of times alone in a quiet room with your eyes closed. I continue to discover additional nuances of the music with each listen.

This album starts off with a confession that sums up how I now feel about the album, "Fine, I'll admit, I may have been wrong, but I never knew that we'd get along." While at first, the sound was quite different that anything I had heard and I was resistant, now I can see, that this album and I have become quite good friends indeed.

As for the lyrics, the singer certainly wouldn't get any work as a motivational speaker. The lyrics seems to be waiver between direct Morrissey gloom (I'd Really Like to Hurt You), introspective self-doubt (Wonder if the Snow Will Settle), and passion about life (Mind is Evil). However, despite the sound, which is quite dissonant and gloomy, the lyrics typically leave me feeling triumphant and empowered in my realism.

The music is beautiful crafted and seems to go quite perfectly with the lyrics throughout the entire album. The first time I listened to it, I was slightly thrown off by the unique changes and sounds. However, the music quickly grew on me in much the same way that Stereolab's "Switched On" or Bjork's "Homogenic" did. The sound is rough but the edges are polished. Distortion is not lacking when the singer is recommending us to "Come into the Darkness", and the softness and tranquility are there when describing "Trees in the City".

As a poem, this album is touching and passionate.
As a feat of songwriting, this album makes writing your own songs seems nothing but vain.
As a work of art, this album is truly outstanding.

Notable points:
-The chorus of "Mind is Evil"
-The interlude of "Come into the Darkness"
-The lyrics of "Keep Smiling"
-The beautiful transition from the dissonant "Treat Yourself with Kindness" to the peaceful "Trees in the City"

"Cedars" qualifies as a semi-middle of the road peice of work. At some points it sounds great, and then at others it splashes everywhere like Thanksgiving gravey. It is worth a listin if nothing else for the song "I'd Really Like to Hurt You". It's a teetering on the fence record that just can't pull itself any higher, allbeit this album does have it's high points.So i am giving it a slight recommendation, if nothing esle but for the satisfaction of the aforementioned song.

i heard about these guys through pitchforkmedia.com as well. truth is, if you're looking for an "indie" record, you won't find it here. there's nothing alternative about the record except for (maybe) it's dark lyrical undertone. if you're looking for a classic britpop album along the lines of blur with a hint of doves and/or elbow, this album is for you. matter of fact, there isn't a song on this album which i didn't like. better than elbow's new album IMHO.

I have to admit, this was a grower for me too, but once it sunk in I was hugely impressed. These poor guys don't seem to be making much headway with regard to commercial attention - musical proof that the world can truly be unfair at times.

Yet I'm not that surprised! Their music is a truly unsettling blend of uptempo pop and deeply paranoid lyrics. Morrisey meets Radiohead would be a good description......

This is a great record. Brings me back to many different styles that I love but maintain the creative integrity. Cedars gets better with each listen and is lock for a spot on my top 10 this year. Mucho grande bueno.

Go see them live 2.