Clarence Park

Chris Clark (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 1, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warp Records
• ASIN: B00005IAL6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #350,301 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Pleen 1930's

2. The Dogs

3. Proper Lo-Fi

4. Oaklands

5. Bricks

6. Emw

7. A Laugh With Hills

8. The Chase

9. Lord of the Dance

10. Caveman Lament

11. Fossil Paste

12. Diesel Raven

13. Shrewland

14. Nostalgic Oblong

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars King of Warp Records dethroned!, March 10, 2002

By 

Ryan Hennessy (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clarence Park (Audio CD)

As far as record covers go, that cute picture of the smiling boy in his snow-covered backyard may be one of the most decieving ever considering this is an IDM record having more than a little in common with Aphex Twin's Drukqs. But I'm guessing Mr. Clark chose the picture just because it looked cool. And more power to him.

Clarence Park is a tight record. And I mean *tight*. Tight in every respect. It clocks in at just over 33 minutes, and throughout the duration, your attention doesn't waver for a second. There's fourteen tracks, as you can see, of varying duration. That's because Chris Clark took a drastic step for IDM records by putting short piano ballads in to juxtapose the crazier electronic melanges much like Richard D. James did with Drukqs. The problem with Drukqs was that it was too huge and collapsed under its own weight. You'd have to have a massive amount of sonic invention to keep up a behemoth like that. In that way, Clarence Park is the antithesis to James' album. It takes the same idea, but puts it on a much smaller, and hence more workable, scale.

Clarence Park opens with a slow fade-in looping piano melody that gently changes through its minute and a half duration. It's nostalgic and doesn't prepare you at all for "The Dogs" which sounds like a giant waking up from a century of rest. Still, the segues from piano to eletronics on this album work much better than on the Aphex Twin album. I'm not sure exactly how that is, but it seems as though James' piano tracks are more show-off wankery when Clark is using the short interludes to compliment his electronic pieces.

"Proper Lofi" is a song that springs life into glitch. Its catchy melody is one of the album's more memorable moments. Then there's a more ambient piano passage intterupted by "Bricks," glitch gone hard rock. A loud fuzzline dominates the song which also features a cut-up vocal sample. "A Laugh With Hills" is another plodding song that conjures up the image of the giant inncoently going about his work, but in a depressed manor.

"The Chase" is a big bass buzz-a-thon that serves as a great intro to the album's centerpiece, "Lord of the Dance." Its upbeat sea shanty melody gets played by a synth whistle while a seemingly broken beat comes in at all the right places. Like in the best IDM songs, the percussion plays just as big a part as the melody. Then to round things out perfectly, there's a few more exceptional numbers, including "Diesel Raven," a song that rocks out more than should be allowed by law.

Getting back to that little boy on the cover, one of the reasons I like this album is that it gives you a sense that Chris Clark is a just a guy living in Maine who likes to make music as a hobby. That's what makes an impeccable first release like this so enjoyable. And what's really got to hurt Richard James is not only did Chris Clark beat him at his own game, but Clark is James' protege residing on James' own record label. Ouch.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Promising Debut By Chris Clark, January 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Clarence Park (Audio CD)

There's a slightly amateurish feel to this album, and at this point Chris Clark cannot hold a candle to Squarepusher or Aphex Twin. On the other hand, it is also an ambitious album that promises good things to come. It's also original, creative, and diverse, which already sets him apart from the masses of wannabes. Tracks range from icy ambient to whimsical. "Proper Lofi" is a fantastic trip in drill'n'bass. "Lord Of The Dance" and "Diesel Raven" are fun radio-friendly tracks. Chris Clark's strength seems to be in exploiting the melodic use of noise. It's a rather enjoyable album. I think this album goes well with Ohgr's "Welt". Also be sure to visit the Warp Records mini-site for this album, where there's a free MP3 of the unreleased track "Guitar Solo"

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars do you like melodic orgasms?!, December 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Clarence Park (Audio CD)

I heard a snippet of this album (which is extremely difficult to download from the net) and fell hopelessly in love. I'm one of those jaded electronica fans who has been getting into more esoteric territory, so this suited my palate admirably. The song "Diesel Raven" is pure perfection so it would be redundant to try to describe it. "Clarence Park" is replete with watery and christalline textures, a kind of attention to aesthetic detail that is sometimes missing from Warp and Rephlex releases. The harmonics do usurp the beats, but in such a way that they enhance eachother; they fit together like they were from the same family of sound. "The Dogs" sounds like a vacuum-cleaner apocalypse, with delightful tripping rhythms. You will wish, as I have, that you had written this album. A must buy!