Goodbye Music Lovers
Clor, a band for whom musical differences surely seemed to be the
whole point, have nonetheless succumbed to this hoariest of
rock'n'roll fates and decided not to be a pop group anymore.
Unable to reconcile the yin and yang of wanting to be both wildly
creative and chart-bothering, they will leave a big, uniquely
C.L.O.R.-shaped hole in the all-too-generic world of
guitar/electronic music.
Formed by dual/duel guitarists Barry Dobbin and Luke Smith a couple
of years back out of the ashes of various unlamented coulda-bin
contenders, Clor were signed to Regal/Parlophone on the strength of
the demos for what would become their debut EP, 'Welcome Music
Lovers'.
The dynamic tension between the pair fuelled their forays into club
running via the chaotic and often brilliant Club Clor in Brixton,
where they played host to the nascent careers of Tom Vek, The
Rakes, The Research, Envelopes, Young Knives, Maximo Park, Shit Disco and, sadly, Hard-fi.
Wisely, however, they turned down the Kaiser Chiefs. On their way they also did
remixes for the Prodigy, the Envelopes, Le Tigre, Tom Vek, Shit
Disco and someone else I canąt remember right now.
They self-titled, self-produced debut album was met with a mixture
of plaudits and bemusement when it emerged last summer, but, as
people got acclimatised to its strange new energy, became a strong
cult classic, particularly among fellow musicians, and spawned the
spazzy dancing freak hit-let, 'Love and Pain'.
The band toured extensively round the UK and slightly beyond in
support of the album, augmented by the doughty pairing of Max
Taylor and Harry Bennett, from Roots Manuva, on bass and drums, as
well as the Ron Mael for the beaten generation, Bob Earland, on
keys.
It is poignant that, as they split, Clor's star is arguably at its
zenith, with ŚClorą about to be released in America and their future
work eagerly anticipated by anyone with a keen interest in new
music. Still, they leave a jewel of album for future generations to
discover among the land-fill and rock detritus of so many of their
peers.
At the time of writing the future career paths of Dobbin and Smith
are unclear, though both are likely to continue making music along
their divergent routes.