#The Clean

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

David Kilgour + Lambchop - Abbey Pub, Chicago, Illinois, March 9, 2002

Digging back into the Aadam Jacobs archives — an ever-expanding treasure trove of live music from days gone by, mostly recorded in Chicago. Thanks to everyone involved in this valuable project! Today, we're listening to a killer double-bill from the early 2000s: David Kilgour and Lambchop! Very unique, especially since various Lambchoppers served as Kilgour's backing band.

I actually caught this cool tour in Somerville, MA a week or so prior to the Abbey Pub show. I was fresh out of college, incredibly unemployed, totally confused. Memories are hazy. The 608? I think that venue existed for exactly five minutes. Who did I go with? It may have been a member of Papas Fritas — Donna, are you out there somewhere?! And was this gig my intro to a very young William Tyler? I think it was — have you checked out William's new LP yet? It is amazing. Anyway, both sets are very much worth your time, with David's always sweet guitar work ringing out over the club and Lambchop bravely battling some chatty Chicagoans to present the mellow (yet still intense!) sounds of Is A Woman.

By the spring of 2002, I had started doing a little music writing for some burgeoning websites — mostly the long-gone Junkmedia. I can't remember exactly how I got hooked up with that crew, but it chugged along nicely for a little while there ... and with the help of the Wayback Machine, I've salvaged my Kilgour-chop show review from way back. Important history! Right? Read it after the jump, if you dare.

Lambchop Somerville, MA March 6, 2002

Who knew seven musicians could make so little noise? That was the question I went away asking myself after witnessing Lambchop's absurdly subdued performance at the 608 club in Somerville, MA, on an uncommonly warm March evening. The stage was packed with keyboards, guitars, horns, drums and other assorted sonic gadgetry — yet the players seemed to be in an unspoken contest with each other to see who could play the softest. For fans of the more expansive, colorful sound heard on the band's previous albums, Nixon and What Another Man Spills, the set may have been a disappointment. But for those in the audience willing to set aside their preconceptions and really listen, there were untold delights in store.

Opener David Kilgour of New Zealand indie-pop legends the Clean seemed to be in a similarly subdued state of mind, though perhaps he had no say in the matter, since his backing band was made up entirely of Lambchop members. Playing almost maddeningly catchy songs from his latest solo release, A Feather in the Engine, Kilgour impressed with an all-too brief set.

Then came Lambchop. It was an audacious move on the part of the group's mastermind, Kurt Wagner, to attempt to replicate the hushed, subtle intricacies of his band's latest long player in the decidedly un-hushed, unsubtle setting of a rock club. Is A Woman, the album in question, has its sonic axis in the moody, jazz-tinged playing of pianist Tony Crow, a relative newcomer to the ever-expanding Lambchop fold. (Believe it or not, this was, in fact, a stripped-down version of the band; when they hit Europe this spring their number will be up to 14!) It's a simple fact of life for the touring band that as the volume of the show increases, the first casualty is usually the keyboards. But instead of letting his band blast away any traces of Crow's piano, Wagner brought the decibel level down to an astonishingly low level—drums were brushed lightly, trumpets were muted and the two electric guitars were barely audible. As a result, the gentle rise and fall of the piano-centric tunes from Is A Woman drifted languidly across the room like a light summer breeze.

Of course, listening to such mellow playing requires a certain degree of discipline from the audience, something that some of the 608's patrons failed to take into account. While the chatter coming from the bar area was no louder than a basic night out at an average rock club, it seemed almost deafening when compared to Wagner and company. But as Lambchop got deeper into their 75-minute set, the performance took on a bizarre sort of drama—each note Wagner struck on his guitar seemed to take on an extra layer of meaning, and even the most delicate of drum fills had a powerful feel. On "The New Cobweb Summer", one of the standout cuts from Is A Woman, Crow's gently crashing piano chords formed a shimmering backdrop for one of Wagner's most affecting (if still typically obtuse) set of lyrics. At moments like these, you had to appreciate a band willing to turn down the volume in order to let the simple beauty of its music shine through. — Tyler Wilcox, 2002

[guessimdumb]

The Clean - Big Soft Punch (1990)

Recorded after the Clean reunited in the late 80s, this is a wonderful Robert Scott (the Bats) tune.

They'll need it if they're to fly

[bandcampsnoop]

4/11/25.

I have a decided soft-spot for bands who resurface for one reason or another. For example, Salem 66's compilation came 35 years after the bands relative "heyday". Some bands reform and make a new album (Action Painting!), while others just reissue older work. Butter Utter look like their doing both.

Butter Utter were, according to their Bandcamp page, one of Sweden's first punk bands. And apparently at an early gig, attendees fled. The band was told they needed to learn to play their instruments better. 40 years later, they learned that punk doesn't have to be played great. It just needs to sound great. So the band released "Legacy" - a compilation of demos and rarities (released by Leonid Brezjnev Records - a label that has two releases to its name - both by...you guessed it, Butter Utter)

Honestly, this sounds great. I wish I could have been in Uppsala, Sweden in 1977 screaming "MORE"!!! Perhaps I could have helped change the trajectory of Swedish punk.

This doesn't sound like traditional punk. This is really the kind of genius that happens when musicians get together without too much of an idea of what they want to accomplish. So, in that way, "Legacy" reminds me of the sound of early Flying Nun - The Clean (listen to "Kejsarens nya kläder"), and The Chills. It's also reminiscent to some degree of the New York City punk scene captured so well by Ork Records (early Feelies, Television, etc.). The band also mention Nick Lowe as an early influence.

If you're in Sweden this August, it looks like you can catch them in Gävle.

[tabby-tiger]

rip castle byers classics I just remember opening the playlisy and thinking wtf they actually put slug song on there 💀💀💀

Anyways yeah here's the drawing and song link 👍

[hark-sounds]

The Clean - Crazy, 2001.

[flying-golden-vee]

Ok.... how the crap did I never know that GBV covered one of my favorite Clean songs.......

[rag-and-bone]

it's bigger than both of us - NZ singles 1979-82

[dec0mposing]

Beatnik - The Clean (1982)

[whatsthesound]

Stephen, “Tape Machine” (1988)

[samaralubelski]

Go Fund Me for Hamish Kilgour - https://gofund.me/9d06d2d9

[spilladabalia]

The Clean - Dunes

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

David Kilgour - The Gas Station, New York City, June 18, 1992

Good news! The Great Unwashed's Clean Out Of Our Minds is getting a much-needed reissue soon. This band was the 4-track project of David and Hamish Kilgour following The Clean's initial splintering. Killer stuff — but then, pretty much everything that the Brothers Kilgour touched is magic. Like David's first solo LP, Here Come The Cars! That one has been reissued a few times over the years, but it looks like it could use another edition; even the reissues are going for beaucoup bucks these days. Beaucoup!  

Anyway, here's something that passed my way recently, and I'm passing it your way, too — David playing an abandoned NYC gas station on a short tour in support of Here Come The Cars?! Why not! I could listen to only this guy play guitar for the rest of my days and be happy. There's something about his strumming/sparkling style that just knocks me clean out of my mind.

Over on Facebook recently, David offered up a fond remembrance of this gig:

"I could only afford to bring Noel Ward on bass from NZ so we picked up drummer James Kavoussi from Fly Ashtray. Unrest also played they were fantastic!!!!! A CMJ festival, I think...We got a flat tyre outside the venue and couldnt find a spare, all the while fighting off the junkie who was stripped to his waste and covered in lathered soap. There was a shooting gallery nearby . It was a terrifying scene. It didnt help Noel and I were driving Hamish and Lisa's car which was a huge stationwagon, like a oldsmobile from the 70s, fucking huge, mid summer, no air con. Ha! The glamour life!"

[bandcampsnoop]

2/22/25.

Holy cow. Where has this band been? Nag Ar Juna are (were) a Japanese oddball/jangle/pop band. This was released in 2013 by the Tokyo label de.te.ri.o.ra.tion. The label's last release was 2019.

Nag Ar Juna move between pop sounds reminiscent of early Pastels, Bronze Float (listen to that guitar), The Clean or The Velvet Underground (some of these songs have that Mo Tucker chug). There are several releases on the label from this band. Really, take some time to go through them all. I've been listening most to "How Many Friends Can Die Happily?", but "doqu" has more vocal interplay (male and female). There's a definite Georgia Hubley vibe on the 2nd song, "Sasage".

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention Maple Fyshh. Nag Ar Juna must have listened to them while growing up. But, I hope it always goes without saying...Nag Ar Juna have crafted a sound all their own. Fantastic.

[fernycreek]

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[hark-sounds]

The Clean - Diamond Shine, 1990.