There are certain things I don’t quite understand. Obscure cultural references, inside jokes or technical explications of the differences between sub-genres of rock music are some of them. Also, I’m not sure of the significance of the image on the cover of Cleft’s Whale Bone. This is Cleft’s second E.P from just over a year ago, a year which seems to have been a propitious period for this instrumental rock duo, what with the encroaching arrival of their first full length release and everything. With that tantalizing prospect in mind the riches of Whale Bone should provide a considerable foretaste of what is to come.
Fans of progressive rock will doubtless be in their element with this recording, Cleft have stripped that genre of its theatrical and melodramatic accoutrements and come up with a sound that I can only describe as desperately beautiful. ‘Trapdoor’ is the absolute stand out track of the EP, the middle section is stunning, bordering on the symphonic and possessing a grandness of its own that is also the distinct character of this music. It is seemingly impossible to find a single moment on this EP where this pair aren’t doing something new or interesting, the quality of musicianship is refreshing and the songs are so well put together that the whole thing really flows.
Its apparent form the start just what these lads have gained from the slick production on this EP, but you can hardly begrudge them such luxuries when they’re so damn good anyway. Apart from the aforementioned ‘Trapdoor’ each track has something going for it, ‘Flexuous’ has some really infectious guitar lines and some bone rattling guitar/drum battles and ‘Gulch’ boasts some incredible thrashings, each track is rammed with lush guitar and rampant percussion. Whale Bone is Cleft probing the very limits of just what can be achieved with sound alone.
Connor May
Fans of progressive rock will doubtless be in their element with this recording, Cleft have stripped that genre of its theatrical and melodramatic accoutrements and come up with a sound that I can only describe as desperately beautiful. ‘Trapdoor’ is the absolute stand out track of the EP, the middle section is stunning, bordering on the symphonic and possessing a grandness of its own that is also the distinct character of this music. It is seemingly impossible to find a single moment on this EP where this pair aren’t doing something new or interesting, the quality of musicianship is refreshing and the songs are so well put together that the whole thing really flows.
Its apparent form the start just what these lads have gained from the slick production on this EP, but you can hardly begrudge them such luxuries when they’re so damn good anyway. Apart from the aforementioned ‘Trapdoor’ each track has something going for it, ‘Flexuous’ has some really infectious guitar lines and some bone rattling guitar/drum battles and ‘Gulch’ boasts some incredible thrashings, each track is rammed with lush guitar and rampant percussion. Whale Bone is Cleft probing the very limits of just what can be achieved with sound alone.
Connor May