Clutch
Robot Hive/Hive

LA RECENSIONE

The Clutch are back, the historic American band (there's even an Italian dance group with this name) active since the early nineties.
So they're not youngsters. And you can tell. They rock and play with sheer pleasure. Their latest album further highlights the seventies influences already showcased in their previous albums (for the record, countless!).

On "Robot Hive/Exodus" the organ is much more prominent, covering the sound with dust, catapulting the listener directly into the Arizona desert or somewhere around there! And then the voice arrives... Simply stunning! Neil Fallon, the man with more whiskey in his body and cigarettes smoked than history remembers. Only such a person could build a melody around a binary code ("10001110101", simply groovy!). And those catchy riffs, supported by outstanding rhythmic work, make you want to pick up an instrument and start playing...! Occasionally, congas and other percussion appear here and there to further enrich an already full and compelling sound!

The input of "Gravel Road" transforms everything surrounding the listener into an immense cotton field, somewhere, in the Delta. Then it kicks off again into a wild, serpentine and abundant rock, with guitars and organs providing the counterpoint. The album closes with "Who's Been Talking?" with the soul of John Lee Hooker blessing it all.

Amen.