Clarissa
Blood and Commons
(Mammoth)
Straight outta Chapel Hill’s music factory comes Clarissa (it’s a band not a girl). On drums is Sara Romweber, and if her last name rings a bell, it should: Sara’s the sister of Flat Duo Jets frontman Dex Romweber. And as you probably already know, the Flat Duo Jets are the coolest twosome this side of Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole. As for Clarissa, I detected the occasional influence of Bob Mould’s post-Husker/pre-Sugar days on Blood. However, Clarissa never really plunges into the black pits of despair that Mould once did, and of course, only Mould has vocal chords capable of harmonizing with a vacuum cleaner. Also, even though Clarissa delivers a pleasant melody now and then, the band wanders dangerously close to the domain of blandness, which, as we all know, can produce either artistic death or superstardom. If you worship at the throne of safe, non-threatening bands like Pearl Jam, the Verve Pipe, the Wallflowers, and Bush, this may fit you like a glove.
Mike Cade |
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