Album Review: CLAMM - 'Serious Acts'
CLAMM’s third studio album is a searingly honest punk triumph with sounds that feels appropriately noise-rock; for fans of Amyl and the Sniffers and A Place to Bury Strangers.
CLAMM are Naarm/Melbourne raised punk trio that have set out to tell the story of youth in a chaotic current era – Jack Summers, Miles Harding and Stella Rennex compromise the band members and they make their statement known with a principled, authentic sound that is evident from the first track – And I Try, that fades into the shorter No Idea – that sum up from their titles alone what most youth are experiencing in today’s modern world. “And I try to change, I try not to lie, and I try to speak from deep inside,” tells you what the band set out to do with the album from the off and gives you something that reflects their personality. It was synthesized metallic loops into a loud, sonic approach that echoes in parts, A Place to Bury Strangers, who the band have supported, noise rock at times as much as it is punk. This time it is a synth and horn heavy track that shows the band’s variety as much as it stays true to its own identity.
I’ve had my eye on this band ever since I saw them at Wide Awake 2023 and to see them return with a third album is long-awaited. Happy to report that it’s every bit as good as I was led to believe – No Idea pokes fun at the council and the village green and the village community robbing the fun out of the youth of today’s world – a loopy, jangly guitar riff that’s bursting full of ideas – picking up where And I Try left off, there are shades of Amyl and the Sniffers; their compatriots, in here – filled with lyrics and in Summers’ own words, “felt like I was rapping when we recording it.” It’s a sense of community rebelling against class, structural injustice and not knowing what can be done to change any of it – hence the title; No Idea. But despite its title its anything but - a belter of a track that shows the band have never felt more confident in their own form – returning to their past with what they describe as one of the more standard CLAMM songs even if it’s anything but. If this is just the standard for CLAMM then you’re in for a treat with the rest of the album.
“We wanted it to sound as big and intense as possible,” Summers says – and it tracks – the band have recorded it within a week and it shows unmatched tenacity in their songs. Lyrically, the album is full of transformation and self-inspection; reflected in fourth track, The Bag I’m In, with its repeated usage of its title in the chorus for a loud, angry rallying cry. Think DIY outfit Test Plan for similarities here – and the band dip into current affairs for all those lost to the propaganda of the alt-right rabbit hole; Blinded addresses media narratives, celebrity culture and the digital age – at just under four minutes it’s one of the longer tracks on the album; but that record is immediately smashed by track six - More Serious Acts at just under seven the very next track.
If you’re worried at this point where the album may run out of steam; don’t fear – CLAMM are just getting started. Heavy Fines, Loss of License is more standard punkier with the shouting repetition of the two-sentence song title bringing the energy out to the audience in the vein of No Idea, and Bear the Brunt is another follow up that arrives in tremendous form as the band ask once again; “why?”.
Album highlights are No Idea, And I Try and Blinded, but it’s a remarkably consistent record that shows its strength at every turn. A real tour-de-force that seems destined to create a sweltering mosh-pit – as evidenced by a pre-album release gig at the Shacklewell Arms in London recently, and their Wide Awake show way back in 2023 – CLAMM is a band that wears their heart on their sleeve and has authenticity to back it up. A rallying cry against chaos in an uncertain world – they carve out a statement against injustice with a sound that needs to be heard live as much as it is recorded.
Words by Miles Milton Jefferies
