Clem Snide - Suburban Field Recordings II Album Review

Clem Snide
Suburban Field Recordings II
SpinART

Eef Barzelay is a man who writes the most amazing songs of ache, and Clem Snide the band who deliver them. Suburban Field Recordings II is a follow up to the mp3 only album I which saw early demos from some of the band's albums released. II follows in that tradition, with mostly just man and guitar on unreleased home demos. Stripping Clem Snide songs back to Barzelay himself is a remarkably good idea, revealing as it does a songwriter with a remarkable gift for literary-quality lyrics, and a bittersweet way of delivering them. Clem Snide is like an acquired taste for strong espresso coffee, delivering a huge hit in a short time. Hard to categorise, this isn't straightforward rock, country or any other category, but it is entirely happy in the spaces between. An excellent disc for any fan of the band, but its starkness means this is probably not the best place to start your collection.

4/5

Mike Rea