Album Review... Clock Opera - Ways To Forget

This was released yesterday but we've been writing up the review for ages, now today we tell all about the début Clock Opera album! To keep their fans tide over they recently made a 'Clock Operation: Soundcloud Multimix' featuring sounds submitted from fans. SO here it is, enjoy!

Once And For All:
A track with so much emotion thrown upon it, this has been featured on a Kitsune compilation and ultimately that’s how we came across the band. After listening to this track in one form or another for nearly two years it hasn’t worn us out not one bit, it’s a great opener to the album as it gives you a taste of what this band is all about!
Out of 10: 7.5/10

Lesson No.7:
A very simple opening to this track and it gains layers and body the further you listen to it. The vocals are as commanding as ever and the bridge to the second chorus just gives you that excitement that seems to be lacking from recent releases. The distorted bass is what makes it for me as it goes into the chorus and completely rips apart the track. With haunting backing vocals, ambient noises and the thick drum beat makes this an unforgettable track!
Out of 10: 9/10

11th Hour:
This track seems to be also very haunting but with the sense of security from the slightly tropical rhythms in the background. You’re believed to think that this is a slow track; yes it is... but up until the track breaks down and starts to pick up speed when Guy starts to sing “got to get mad as hell, got to go ring that bell, got to tell the others, tell the others, tell the others”. I’m telling the others and I love this track in every way possible!
Out of 10: 8/10

Man Made:
A tropical smattering of guitars give you a gentle inkling of what’s going to come. This track is the one that I love the most, it’s got ‘radio’ written all over it, a great chorus and vocals that anyone can love. The breakdown after the chorus and it begins to become more than tropical; this is so danceable and astonishingly beautiful!
Out of 10: 8/10

Belongings:
The calmest track of the album (so far) and it’s been around for a while too so we’ve warmed to it even before we knew it was on the album. The vocals are at its most gentle here and the track seems so delicate that if you play it too loud it’ll compromise it somehow. With glockenspiels and piano keys running throughout it you’re really given a treat here.
Out of 10: 8/10



White Noise:
Another oldie that’s been re-recorded for the album, this is one of those summer chill out songs to listen to while getting all relaxed at home while the sun is setting. Yet his sharp, icy notes slice into the atmosphere of the song. This is the perfect blend of a Wild Beasts haunting vocals with Everything Everything’s glitchy passion. It just holds up the album, a great centre-piece if I do say so!
Out of 10: 9/10

A Piece Of String:
Guy’s echoing voice “You have set me free, from analysing dreams, and taking seat too long, I love you right and wrong”. The chorus is bolstered by Gameboy synths and clattering drums as he then sings “Teach me wrong from right! Show me black and white!” This may sound like a complicated track but only when you peel away the simple beats from the complicated synths and drum beats.
Out of 10: 7/10

The Lost Buoys:
With this track opening with some piano keys it’s won me over from the beginning! The amazement continues with a pulsating bass that drives the song forwards into the up-beat bridge. The vocals on this song are just sublime and I can’t help think how good this band is. The chorus slows the song down a bit but not without giving us some funky guitar tones in the background. This track has it all!
Out of 10: 9/10

Wave To The Mountains
A title apt for a song on the end of the album, yet still this track delivers the goods. Clock Opera use the piano once again here, it’s not getting boring but this is just one ‘quirk’ of many that I adore of theirs. This sounds like pop if it was actually listenable, they’ve crafted a song with a piano line all the way through it and what’s more it’s not mind-numbingly lacklustre.
Out of 10: 7/10

Fail Better:
This is where the ‘standard edition’ of the album ends, yet if you download the full version you’re just half-way through the debut. This is a remarkable way to end what has been a fantastic album to listen to, with a surf-rock riff working its way in the background and incredibly fast drumming this song builds up a sense of achievement for the band. ‘Fail Better’ is a pure album closer!
Out of 10: 8/10

Clock Opera - Ways To Forget
Out of 10: 8.1/10



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