Clinic, Apples in Stereo

The new Apples in Stereo disc–aptly titled Velocity of Sound–is indeed a very fast record, much more dynamic and, believe it or not, loud, much more so than anything they’ve put out thus far. But it’s more than just uniformly high-pitched vocals pitted against roaring backgrounds. Of course, there’s a dash of the usual psychedelia (one doesn’t just forget his first love), but now there’s also an arsenal of fuzzed-out, crunchy guitars to propel their surgical-strike pop songs furiously forward. There’s even a bratty twang feel to “Rainfall” and “Better Days,” lending some diversity to the rush of pixie-stick madness. The fits and bursts of sound, however, are very controlled. There are only three songs longer than three minutes.

The Apples–who sometimes sound more like a band of 9-year-olds than a band that’s 9 years old, and who now have perhaps reached more 9-year-olds than anyone else thanks to their Cartoon Network-supported song from the Powerpuff Girls–are joined in mischief by U.K. eccentrics Clinic, whose similar penchant for brevity serves much more macabre sensibilities and downcast sounds. In concert, their songs are more literally surgical strikes; at every show each member of the band dons a surgical mask and scrubs. Exactly what sort of operation they’re primed to perform is unclear.