The Clean is an alternative rock band from New Zealand that was formed in the university city of Dunedin in 1978. This is an album/band that I added to my queue during an adding binge recently, and after looking them up I can say that I’m pretty interested to listen to them. According to the band’s Wikipedia page, they’re one of the most influential bands from the Flying Nun label. The Flying Nun label specialized in the “Dunedin sound”, which seems to be an early iteration of college rock derived from punk, psychedelia, garage rock, and new wave, which is named for the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. This description sort of reminds me of the style of “Bosstown sound”, the brand of psychedelic rock from Boston that was cultivated by a record company to supposedly compete with the scene from the San Franciscan Bay area in the 1960s. This album, Vehicle (1990), is The Clean’s debut record, and based on the album’s Wikipedia page, it seems to have been well-received. With that said, I’m pretty stoked to give this album a listen, so I’m going to go ahead and jump on into the music.
“Draw(in)g to a (W)hole” starts out with some really groovy, somewhat melty, and somewhat jangling guitar work set to a sturdy beat that very much reminds me of The Church, a college rock and neo-psychedelic rock band from the late 1980s from Australia. I really dig the bass line in this track, especially as the shakers join in as the track breaks through to the chorus. Great track, and I’m excited to hear more.
Oh wow, “I Wait Around” seems to pick up almost exactly where the previous track left off in terms of the beat and feel of the melody, except there’s a gritty, distorted guitar in this track that brings some super groovy college rock flavors to the soundscape. Oh wow, I’m really digging this track. I’m reminded a little bit of the college rock/new wave band from the late 1980s called The Lucy Show with this track. Great tune.
“Bye Bye” gets grooving right away with a medley of keyboards/organs, a strong beat, a catchy bass line, and some sort of jangling guitar work that all come together and keep me listening closer and closer. I’m very much again reminded of The Church with the sort of jangling college rock sound of this track, and I’m very much enjoying the sound. Great tune.
“The Blue” starts out with some sort of galloping guitar lines with a really sweet reverb that make the notes almost seem like waves in the ocean, while the drums and bass continually progress the tune forward with a dynamic rhythm. Oh wow, I really dig the sort of breakdown/bridge in this track. The bass almost has a bit of a punk rock feel to it. Great track.
“Dunes” starts out with a sound that almost makes it seem like you’re surfing, with the drums and bass propelling you forward and the dynamic guitar lines almost seem to be waves that you seem to chop through while the vocals breeze about the beach-like soundscape. I’m really digging this track. Wow, great tune.
“Some One” starts out with some really sweet guitar work set to a strong beat and bass line that remind me a ton of new wave style of The Psychedelic Furs. Oh wow, the guitar seems to wander off a bit and brings an exploratory nature to the track, which matches nicely with the new wave sound that’s been cultivated in the song thus far. Super sweet track.
Oh wow, “Home” starts out with some super flavorful acoustic guitar (possibly a 12-string), and some super sweet organs. The track reminds me a bit of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, as well as the songs from Tess Parks and Anton Newcombe a bit. Wow, great track.
“Diamond Shine” gets grooving right away with some catchy guitar work, a bouncy bass line, and some super strong drums. Honestly, my first impression was a sort of surfing version of “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” by Paul Simon, and I’m very much enjoying the sound. The bass line and beat sort of have a bit of a punkish origin in terms of sound, while the electric guitar seems to bring in a sort of college rock and jangle pop sound, and the bright notes from the keyboard make it seem as though you’ve been transported to a sunny beach to listen. Great track.
Oh wow, “Getting to You” starts out with a really groovy medley of organs and guitar that very much remind me of the Sgt. Pepper’s psychedelic pop era of The Beatles, with a hint of 80s college rock. I’m really digging this track. The guitars and the organs have a super flavorful psychedelic pop sound that keeps pulling me further into the music. Great track.
“Big Soft Punch” starts out right away with some similar psychedelic pop flavors with the organs and guitar work in this track, but with a hint of a sullen sound at the beginning that sort of reminds me of The Psychedelic Furs again. Oh wow, there’s a really groovy guitar line at the end of the track that seems to walk between surf rock, psychedelic pop, and college rock. Great track.
Oh wow, “Big Cat” gets grooving right away with an interesting jangling sort of neo-psychedelic rock sound in the instrumentation, while the vocals very much remind me again of The Psychedelic Furs. Oh wow, the guitar really goes in at the end of the song. Super sweet tune.
“I Can See” gets started right away with some sweet chords from a 12-string acoustic guitar, and is soon followed by some interesting and somewhat discordant bass notes from what might be an acoustic bass or perhaps another acoustic guitar, or perhaps even the same acoustic guitar. This track seems to bring in more of the flavors the have reminded me so much of The Psychedelic Furs so far during this album. Wow, super sweet track.
“Gem” gets started with some super flavorful, and nearly folksy and bluesy acoustic guitar, which has somehow hooked me even further into the music even as the album is coming to a close. Wow, great track and a great way to finish the album.
Holy smokes, I’m glad I checked out The Clean tonight. College rock and new wave are two genres that I always enjoy listening to, but I don’t seem to listen to them all that often. I definitely want to hear more by The Clean sometime soon though. If you’re into college rock and neo-psychedelic stylings of groups like The Church or The Lucy Show, and/or if you enjoy the sort of new wave stylings of groups like The Psychedelic Furs, then you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A