The Clockworks - The Clockworks

The self-titled EP from Galways The Clockworks will be released on 1st April (no seriously) via Alan McGee’s label It’s Creation Baby.

Here’s our track by track review:

Endgame

Being directionless in a world gone fuck up has never sounded so great. Frontman McGregor’s vocal cadence radiates “4 Real” carvings in the arm it’s so vital; every breath, note, silence sounds like the key moment in the best film you’ve ever seen.

Previously, their guitars have been in two camps. ‘Can I Speak to a Manager’ and ‘Bills and Pills’ were a great homage to 00s icons The Rakes, The Cribs, and beefed up Good Shoes. Then, in ‘Enough is Never Enough’ something changed.  Brutishness pervaded their punk as they traversed far more desolate landscapes.

Image and artwork courtesy of Sonic Pr

Here, they have married up the two to create the next wave of UK punk. It’s fired them into the brace of Shame and Fontaines DC, arguably surpassing them. Especially when you consider McGregor has found a way to sit between Henry Dartnail’s (Young Knives) slightly high-pitched growl and the warming punk of Grian Chatten (Fontaines DC).

Money (I Don’t Wanna Hear It)

It’s felt an age since social commentary and great characterisation were a part of our lives. There has been great polemic of recent times but, ‘Money’ goes further. It unites the town crier with the poet and is destined to reel in fans from all strands of the alternative world!

Feel So Real

Almost a year to the day since this was first released and its prose feels more needed now than then. The disgusting Spring Statement that neglected millions (becoming a habit Sunak!!!) are lit up perfectly. McGregor’s lyrics scour London life, consuming the good, the greed, and the destitute.  It feels like Welsh, King, and Niven have formed a three-piece punk band with one objective, righteous angst!

The Temper

Not many punks can strip down to acoustic guitars and maintain the quality levels. The Clockworks do not struggle here. The passion of ‘England’s In The Wars’ and the playfulness of ‘D’Ya Wanna Be Spacemen’ offer up a moment of calm but incisive lyrical joy.

Images of Pete and Carl filling time between stage collapses or Brett Anderson sitting on the edge of the stage without a mic come racing to the fore as, this acoustic affair sways with Blake-esque poetry.

The Gulps – Stuck in the City

The international collective based in London are back with their new single ‘Stuck in the City. It is their debut release on Alan McGee’s label It’s Creation Baby.

Image and artwork courtesy of Sonic PR.

Their early days saw them produce Oasis via The Strokes records which live were fantastic but, on record, were missing something. They began to recreate this magic on their previous single ‘The Kings House’ and on ‘Stuck in the City’, the electricity of the live shows has made the transfer.

Rock ‘n’ roll often needs a reset. The Pistols did it 70s, Oasis did it in the 90s The Strokes/Libertines did it in the 00s. The Gulps have taken their first step towards said reset with this heartfelt polemic. Under Blair, the UK was often cited as apathetic but, with Boris’ shambolic tenure going unchallenged in the polls, the lethargy to incompetence is almost apocalyptic. The Gulps have a rage that is perfect for the modern age. It’s rooted in punk classicism taking aim at consumerism, politics, and social disinterest. It’s their empathy that shines brightest though, it cuts through the angst and chimes gloriously against the hissing guitars.

The psyche debauchery of Oasis remains ever-present but, this time, it’s backed with a relentless rhythm section worthy of early Bloc Party. It creates a glorious punk dichotomy whereby, the introverted genius of Dan Treacy and Gedge are given the stadium belief of Noel Gallagher.

Its only weakness is, it’s arguably too long. A hallmark of ‘Be Here Now’ that surely won’t happen under McGee twice. Nevertheless, the energy of the verses is utterly irrepressible and, the full-throttle solo is more than enough to keep everyone coming back for more.

 The Gulps will be supporting Cast on various dates in January:

Charlie Clark – Don't Have A Cow, Man!

Scotland's Charlie Clark released 'Don't Have A Cow, Man!' last month on Alan McGee's new label It's Creation Baby. The former Astrid member has often gone under the radar, might this be the time he steps out of the shadows?

Having forged a new career in promoting in LA, Clark had left his song-smith days behind. However, with the tragic news of his father becoming terminally ill, Clark moved to Stornoway to help with the care. Such life-altering moments not only charged his muse but altered his personal life too.

In doing so, he has sent out the clearest reminder of this decade that music still has the power to sparkle and change lives. Shimmering like Cosmic Rough Riders' 00s classic 'Enjoy The Melodic Sunshine', it possesses the joyous pop of The Wannadies and the infectious meanderings The LA's. The lyrics detail Clark's tale of cleaning himself up which is admirable. Set to this pop-psyche whimsy, it almost renders Big Star and Belle & Sebastian obsolete.

Clark's new album 'Late Night Drinking' is due out soon and, after this single, has laid down a marker very few can follow.

The Clockworks – Feels So Real

Galway's The Clockworks, now based in London, returned last week with their new single 'Feels So Real' . Released via It's Creation Baby, it was recorded at Unity/Aquarium Studios and was produced Michael Rendall.

The delirious noise and confusion of early Libertines house parties pervades the brooding guitars whilst James McGregor's lyrics and vocals, recall the poetic punk prose of The Rakes' Alan Donohoe.

Their move to London has come alive on this record. The sound of being young, lost, and furious has reawakened dreams of Albion with their razor-sharp social observation. Although stylistically different, their integrity is on par with Doherty, Barat as well as Brett Anderson. Like the aforementioned, their move to London has ignited poignant insights into the culture and crucially, the people of their new home. A rejection of greed is contrasted with the struggles and deprivation many endure is put back in the spotlight and it couldn’t be more necessary.

This feels like a watershed moment for the band. The music, the lyrics, and the intensity have all gone up a few notches and now anything feels possible for this band.