All Into The Void

Clinic “Fine Dining”

Clinic have gradually established themselves as the Gen X equivalent to The Fall – a band with an extremely specific style that they use as a template for exploring different tones and aesthetics over a long period of time. Or, as John Peel once described The Fall: “They are always different, they are always the same.” In the case of their new single “Fine Dining” the X factor is mostly in the keyboard tones, which strike me as very Kraftwerk though I’m not sure if they’re actually using the same vintage gear. It’s a tonality that signals a dated notion of futuristic efficiency, and it feels quite strange in the context of a song that otherwise sounds like a demented jingle for a restaurant. Ade Blackburn’s voice often comes across as inscrutable and a little creepy but he pushes that to an extreme in this song, so the phrase “no scruples” sounds especially sinister, and the refrain “all into the void” feels like a trap revealed to you before it’s too late to get out.

Buy it from Bandcamp.