{"id":4965,"date":"2019-04-18T05:00:56","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T05:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=4965"},"modified":"2019-04-15T08:08:37","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T08:08:37","slug":"clowns-nature-nurture-fat-wreck-chords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=4965","title":{"rendered":"Clowns – Nature\/Nurture (Fat Wreck Chords)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u2018Nature\/Nurture\u2019, album number four from Australian punk rockers Clowns, not only sees the band further shape their unique twist on a well-worn genre but also get a (clown-sized?) shoe in the door of the mainstream by signing with Fat Wreck for distribution outside of Australia\/New Zealand.<\/p>\n

Not being what you might call \u201cyour typical Fat Wreck type of band\u201d, I had feared that signing for such a well-known label might have meant that Clowns would be required to come up with more commercial tracks to suit their new paymasters, however it takes just a few bars of the explosive opener \u2018Bland Is The New Black\u2019 to put my mind at rest that this is certainly not the case. This is the sound of one angry bunch of muthafuckers as Stevie Williams spits out the lyrics with just as much venom and intensity, as he did on the band\u2019s corrosive \u2018I\u2019m Not Right\u2019 debut.<\/p>\n

In the six years that have passed since that amazing debut album first impressed the hell out of most of us back over at our old Uber Rock haunt, Clowns have certainly broadened their palette of sound and in many ways \u2018Freezing In The Sun\u2019 (the lead single from the album which I first saw live back at last year\u2019s Rebellion Festival) is the benchmark by which they are likely to be measured on subsequent releases. Largely because this track is the perfect example of how to play heart and soul punk rock music whilst adding your own identity into the mix.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit there\u2019s a moment during the intro to \u2018I Feel Again\u2019 where I fear that the five-piece may have taken the \u201clight\u201d (in their light and shade sound) a little too far and during the aural onslaught that is \u2018May I Be Exhumed?\u2019 they perhaps go a little too dark, but you know what, in the context of the album it all fits together perfectly, and that ladies and gentlemen is what makes \u2018Nature\/Nurture\u2019 such a thrilling listen.<\/p>\n

Influences fly at you thick and fast just like the eleven tracks that make up the album\u2019s 35 minutes running time and you\u2019d be pretty ambivalent to what constitutes great music if you didn\u2019t get reminded of bands like The Bronx, Fucked Up, The Explosion or (yes I admit it) Jane\u2019s Addiction along the way. The thing is Clowns don\u2019t merely imitate these great bands they innovate and that is what makes them oh so special, whilst only adding to the \u2018Nature\/Nurture\u2019 debate you could have about the band themselves.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s the brutal Clowns of old that you are looking for (in which case check out \u20181:19\u2019, \u2018Soul For Sale\u2019 or \u2018Prick\u2019) or the more \u201cpolished\u201d Clowns of 2019 (which is perhaps best exemplified by album closer \u2018Nurture\u2019 which even contains a hint of The Verve about it) this a record designed to make you stop in your tracks and think. \u00a0This is music for people who want to change the world, and if one listen to \u2018Nature\/Nurture\u2019 doesn\u2019t immediately make you appreciate these guys are the real future of rock music in 2019 then you might as well just go buy a fucking Greta Van Hire (or whatever the fuck they are called) album instead.<\/p>\n

\u2018Nature\/Nurture\u2019 is quite simply essential listening.<\/p>\n

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Buy Nature Nurture Here<\/a><\/p>\n

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Author: Johnny Hayward<\/p>\n