Breaking Bones (CD)

Five years ago, when The Clutters debut T&C hit, it pretty much exploded the “rock free Music City” myth and now, ten years after their genesis and on the eve of their third album, Breaking Bones, Nashville has become an epicenter for the rawest of rock n roll. Coincidence? Probably not. The Clutters might not take credit for the path they blazed, but they blazed it none the less. Breaking Bones finds The Clutters – vocalist/guitarist Doug Lehmann, bass player Jake Rosswog, drummer Stephanie Brush and keyboardist Andrew Higley – raising the bar for rock n' roll once again with twelve tracks that land somewhere between Vanilla Fudge and The Voidoids, AC/DC and The Animals. From the opening fuzz of “Finer Things” to the final sustain of “There Is No We In I”, The Clutters barrel through the rock pantheon with a punk rock propulsion and the belligerence of Bon Scott, leaving no ass un-shook and no fist un-pimped. “I'm Bitter”, “Our World Is Gone” and “More”? All anthems for an unemployed, unloved and unsatisfied America. Produced by Lehmann, and recorded by Joe Costa (Ben Folds, The Greenhornes) Breaking Bones pulls no punches and makes no apologies. No concessions are made to decorum, no acknowledgment made of the delicate sensibilities that have sucked the fun out independent music over the last decade. No this, this is hyphen-free rock n roll – all energy, no bullshit. They were bored, now they're angry, they've had more than their share of pain – as the song goes – and it all comes screaming out of your speakers, smashing your brain into little tiny bits. The Clutters may be a little bit older but they are louder and snottier than ever, kicking ass and Breaking Bones. - Sean L. Maloney