Pitchfork: Clearlake Prep Third Album

When it comes to album titles, Clearlake is a band of few words. The British quartet debuted with 2000's Lido, added a couple of letters for the 2003 follow-up Cedars, and they've recently announced that their third record, Amber, is on its way, thanks to Domino.

Amber's first single, "Good Clean Fun", will get a proper British release on December 5, with a remix by Caribou as the b-side. Because Clearlake is a rock band, a physical, slap-it-in-the-disc-tray U.S. single is not planned.

Subjects of the Queen will wrap their ears �round the full-length on January 16, while us Yankee Doodle dandies have to wait until January 24 to hear these top choons:

01 No Kind of Life
02 Neon
03 Good Clean Fun
04 Finally Free
05 You Can't Have Me
06 Amber
07 I Hate It That I Got What I Wanted
08 Here to Learn
09 Far Away
10 Dreamt That You Died
11 Widescreen
12 It's Getting Light Outside

So what's this new record all about, then? Guitar-slinging, keyboard-plinging frontbloke Jason Pegg says, "The music we were listening to this time was definitely more rock: Queens of the Stone Age, Neil Young, Low, My Bloody Valentine." We're not sure that really qualifies as news-- Clearlake covered Young's "Cinnamon Girl" on a 2001 single, and MBV and Low aren't exactly in another galaxy from Clearlake's sound thus far.

More headline-worthy, perhaps, is the album's production team of Pegg, the well-traveled Steve Osborne (New Order, Happy Mondays), and hot younger knobtweaker Jim Abbiss (Kasabian, Arctic Monkeys), augmented by the nigh-unto-legendary engineer Phil Brown (who's worked with Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix, as well as various other still-living icons). The stories those guys could tell, if only they could talk...oh, wait, they probably can.

Although founding guitarist and longtime friend of Pegg's Sam Hewitt does play on Amber, he has left the band, according to an otherwise tight-lipped official announcement. We can only hope Hewitt doesn't do anything goofy like break into his former bandmate's apartment and steal stuff to pawn for drug money, but then that might get Clearlake in the tabloids. Recent dates have been played as a trio, and the band plans to find a replacement by the beginning of their planned February tour. We recommend either Mick Jones from the Clash or Mick Jones from Foreigner.

* Pitchfork Review: Clearlake: Cedars