End of Love

Clem Snide’s Soft Spot (2003) was so soft, shabby and unmoving that few thought Eef Barzelay and the rotating boys of Clem could rebound. After three great albums, the heart ‘n’ soul of America’s greatest Indie-Americana band had married, birthed and apparently lost his mind. Or his art anyhow. Now a year and a half later, Eef has relocated his broke ass from Brooklyn to Nashville, fully prepared to be the man he once was, or at least the tied-down version of it. 

All successful bands get one celebrated album. Some are lucky enough to have more, but it’s typically the initial clang of attention that sets the before-and-after curve. For Clem Snide, it was the highly acclaimed 1999 album, Your Favorite Music. In 2001, Clem Snide released their now signature album, The Ghost of Fashion, to lessened attention. With their fifth album, End Of Love, Eef and his 13 pals have released a triumphant return to their twangy, sarcastic roots, albeit to very few ears.

Apparently, Eef has Jesus H. Christ on his mind a lot these days, but not often in the most direct manner. Much of Love skips around the idea of questioning the purpose of spiritual faith and the role it plays in different contexts without ever feeling like anything near Christian rock. “Jews for Jesus Blues” is the most direct of the bunch, with Eef singing, “I was searching for something I could not describe, / so I stared at the sun till the tears filled my eyes. / Well I thought I was empty, so I paid the cost, / but now that I’m found, I miss being lost.” Following with the less explicit “God Answers Back,” Barzelay sings, “your blood will cover every sunset, and your tears will help me grow some trees.” Clem’s circulating theme seems all too pellucid, but, as always, very amusing and persuasive.

By way of slight keyboards, acoustic guitars, banjos and an occasional burst of treated guitar feedback, Clem Snide use country, rock, folk and hints of jazz to mock current rock radio throughout Love. With a solid balance of upbeat and mid-tempo tracks, Love‘s wet-noodle sound sets a perfect stage for Barzelay’s nasal, dense vocal style.

With the hopes of a Pavement reunion fading with each successful Stephen Malkmus solo project, Barzelay’s clever lyrics and peculiar voice have become more dear to the hearts of Wes Anderson fans (who collect vinyl) everywhere.

Nashville has done it’s job of pushing the band back in the right direction, as Love offers a slice of twangy hope to a softened fan base. If they can make it through their End of Love period, they might be okay, but chances are Clem’s days are numbered, as critics and fans alike seem unimpressed with the band’s all-too-dependable sound. As long as they’re coming up with lines like, “the first thing every killer reads is Catcher in the Rye,” they’ll have followers looking for fad-bashing, apathetic words of inspiration.     8/10

Written by G. William Locke