by James Gregory
Following a lengthy two year break, Clinic reunited for the Visitations sessions hoping to restructure their approach after their previous LP, 2004's Winchester Cathedral, began to show signs of stagnation from a group whose output once defied classification.
"I think we'd sort of reached a point where we knew we had to make a change," shares Ade Blackburn, the band's vocalist/guitarist. "'Winchester Cathedral' seemed really dense, so we wanted to make this quite simple and direct... having that break, things really seem forward-looking on this album, and it feels like we're at the beginning of a new phase."
Evolving within the security of their bulletproof sound may have seemed risky, but with elements of blues and funk mainlined into the band's clattering cinematic delivery, Clinic have created their most engaging album to date.
The main vision I have of it is the ghostly side, like a party based in a cellar or basement, Blackburn says about the album's imagery. "It's quite a mish mash of influences, and rather than just being obvious, we've tried to put as much imagination into it as we can, and I think our fans are really excited by that."
