Search - Chris Clark :: Empty the Bones of You

BEST ALBUM OF LAST YEAR(and I mean it this time)

eightpointagenda | Chicago, IL | 03/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had the fortunate opertunity a few months ago to see Chris Clark live. Before then, I had no prior knowledge of what he sounded like but I become completely entoxicated with combination of harsh beats and beautiful, picture-esque soundscaping that rivals even some of the best moments of Boards of Canada. I was hooked and ran out and bought his Clarence Park, a mish-mash of gorgous textures, real emotions and a healthy dose of humor(Lord of the Dance). It was truly addictive but wholy satisfying. After ages of debate, I finally plunked down the cash to buy his Empty Bones of You.Empty Bones of You, upon first listen reveals Clark still honing and tweaking his craft. The crunchy electronic beats and densely layed melodies are tightly woven together and create a lovelly tapesty that makes it an audiopleasure. However, as each listen revealed to me, the Empty Bones of You has a certain level of evocation to it. Its technicality can easily be stripped away to reveal a gentile, sad, cold landscape that is essentially a devestated human heart at its very core. Rarely has a electronic artist actually been able to create an album that is techincally sound in almost every aspect(with a few filler pieces near the end) that is so emotionally envolved at the same time. It moves through motions of rage, dispare, isolation, frustration, alienation, before finally ending on a brighter note, a sign of hope. Whatever inspired Clark to conceive such an album, he has certainly elevated himself as someone who can play with the big dogs. Other than two later tracks that seem like filler and throw the moment off of the album, it still largely remains the best album of last year with out a doubt in my mind. This one will be a real keeper and hopefully get Chris Clark some real recoginition. A talent like his shouldn't be kept underwraps.P.S. Durring Luke Vibert's set, Chris began to dance right in front of me. I tapped him on the shoulder to shake his hand but I think he thought that I couldn't see(he did sort of eclipse me). Chris man, I'm sorry!P.P.S. Two albums in and Chris is already saying this will be his last melodic venture. Who knows what he's got going next."

One of warp's best

M Kuzmiak | California | 04/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This guy is amazing. I keep playing this for people and they love it and tell me they have never heard anything like it. I even got a huge discount at the auto shop for just having this CD. After the mechanic took my car from the parking lot and listened to one minute of this, he came in and said

"that sounds crazy! you have to let me copy this"

After getting a nice chunk of cash taken off my bill, this cd already paid for itself and never collects dust.



I know everyone compares Clark to Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, and Autechre, but for good intentions. He is already that good, after just a few releases."

Geogaddi + drukqs = empty the bones of you

bowery boy | seattle | 10/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"That is the only way I can describe this disc. Chris Clark's 'empty the bones' of you is the first disc I have bought in a long time that I have listened to nonstop. EVERY track blows me away. It's like a combination of BoC's 'geogaddi' and aphex twin's 'drukqs' so if you're a fan of either of those discs then you'll love this CD as much as I do. 'tycan' sounds the most like BoC, especially when those bass heavy beats kick in. 'gob coitus' (my favorite) sounds the most like aphex twin with it's wildly distorted drill n bass beats, chunky feedback and beautiful melody. Everything else falls in between these two styles. Some tracks are stronger than others (my least favorite is 'gavel') but overall this comes across as a densely focused well thought out disc. Tracks I like the most and why:
indigo optimus: I love the dub honks in this track and how, at intervals, the dub honks take over and momentarily transform this otherwise aggressive track into trance.holiday as brutality: I like the BoC beats, fuzzed out melodies and eerie keyboards. I can imagine this appearing on BoC's geogaddi.wolf: takes a ghostly piano melody and warps it in as many different ways as possible accompanied by big beats, buzzing percussion and beautifully inspired breaks.early moss: I love the distorted bass and metallic percussion joined with ethereal piano. This is a pure uninfluenced Chris Clark track although it does have an art of noise 'moments in love' feel to it.slow spines: high voltage fuzzed out beats, warped harps, glitchy melodies and whistling. Better than the 'ceramics is the bomb' version.umbilical hut: reminds me of an aphex twin ambient piece. Beautiful.This is an incredible disc. Each track envelops you in its sound. I highly recommend it to fans of aphex, boards, squarepusher or any other glitchy drill n bass artist. Listen on headphones. Listen very loud."