Clor [Import]

Clor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 1, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Import
• ASIN: B0009Y33TC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #419,040 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Good Stuff

2. Outlines

3. Love + Pain

4. Hearts On Fire

5. Gifted

6. Stuck In A Tight Spot

7. Dangerzone

8. Magic Touch

9. Making You All Mine

10. Garden Of Love

11. Goodbye

Editorial Reviews

Clor weld the relentless rhythmic pulse of a group like Can or Neu to the angularity of early Talking Heads and Eno. When thrown into a mix that feeds on deviant pop sensibility from the likes of early Roxy Music, Devo and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, what emerges is a sound as idiosyncratic as it is exploratory. EMI. 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Electro-pop destination..., August 3, 2005

By 

usagi2988 (Portland, Or USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clor (Audio CD)

Imagine if Notwist and Out Hud got together and made an album. It sounds a bit like Prince and Missing Persons as well, but without the pretentiousness of being a cover album. And finally, the whole record, while being able to point at all these references, still manages to be its own creation and entity. It sounds improbable, even impossible, but the good news is that UK band Clor has done this already, so you can stop pushing the limits of your imagination with that last catalyst.

With their eponymous album, Clor manage to successfully meld electronic with live instrumentation, usually at the expense of the listener's sense of direction. The only consolation is that they do it so well, that by the end of the album the myriad key and melody changes become natural. And the moniker "pop" is meant as a nod to that ability, the one that makes you feel as if you know the song so well because you wrote it, even if it's only the second time you've actually heard it.

This is the kind of album that sounds as equally good coming out of either your home stereo or windows of your car (while you're doing some ridiculous speed down the road) as it does pumped through your headphones as you're walking downtown or under the covers. Of course, it would be naive as well as a bit arrogant to claim this is an everyone-album, but it sure is good. If even two of the words "Electronic," "Indie," or "Pop," strike your fancy, you certainly could do a lot worse than pick up this album.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clor Their Way To Greatness, April 19, 2006

By 

The Wasp (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clor (Audio CD)

While it seems simultaneously absorbed and absurd to describe your debut album as "a flawless masterpiece of disassociated male sexuality and scientific investigation, set to irresistibly insistent tunes", Clor have certainly delivered a record that splices masculine frailty with songs aligned with glorious musical benchmarks from the 1980s.
On their eponymous debut these sons of Brixton have developed a pop sound that captures Duran Duran's synthesised savoir-faire and David Byrne's edgey allure. While the keyboards, electronic drumkits and special whiz-bang effects often descend into rather ropey realms on tracks such as Making You All Mine and Garden Of Love, it's little wonder considering Clor's guitarist Luke Smith previously wrote bleepy music for video games.
There's more to Clor than a whacked-out love of dressing up, hosting dinky DJ nights and capturing the spirit of Talking Heads on bedroom recordings though, with Love And Pain stretching the influences to include the exuberant pop of The New Pornographers, Gifted adding quality lyrics ("you were the brightest star in my firmament" wins the inaugural Lyric Of The Week competition) that will have Belle & Sebastian fearing redundancy and Dangerzone sounding like electro junkie Tiga covering The Flaming Lips. The mellow and wounded finale of Goodbye might sound like a sweet piece of Travis-style pop, but the lyrics such as "we crave red hot strangers" indicate it's actually a randy little number designed to pull the groupies. It seems like James Blunt isn't the only clever devil switched on to using fey melodies to pull the lassies. Clor blimey.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A buzzing debut!, January 5, 2006

By 

Nse Ette (Lagos, Nigeria) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Clor (Audio CD)

Once upon a time, this was what indie sounded like, before everyone decided to go alternative; quirky, experimental, arty, sometimes atonal, yet you found yourself liking it for some strange reason.

Enter UK quintet Clor to take it back to the good old days. Their brilliant debut comprises buzzing, jittery electro rock. Case in point, the fab `Dangerzone' with its swirling synths.

There's the funky rocker `Magic touch' with faint Prince-like (`Kiss' especially) traces, electronic sound effects and faint distorted guitars buzzing in and out.

And the slow meandering electronic ballad `Goodbye'. Great vocals from Barry Dobbin.

Just a few highlights that potray the diversity of this buzzing debut!