Search - Switchblade Symphony :: Clown

I wish I could still buy it in a regular store.

Mechanical Deity | San Marcos, CA | 07/04/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'd have to confess I downloaded "Night Shift" and the Laetherstrip Mix of "Clown" off Napster, considering the fact these tracks are not available on any of their albums and in order to get them, I would have to go out and buy a whole CD filled with artists I may have never heard of. If I could still go out and buy this single on its own, I would, but I can't, so I didn't.Anyway, as for the music, "Clown" appears on their "Serpentine Gallery" debut album release and is extremely good. It's a track showing SS (Switchblade Symphony) at their high point, with lush soundscapes and rich vocals illustrating a beautiful and vivid picture which takes time to paint.The Leaetherstrip Mix of the song is also very good, although it does remove some of the smaller and more minor musical elements featured in the original song. The song is made much darker in the mix, and changes the musical landscape completely.As for "Night Shift," I would say SS should stay away from doing covers, although I do enjoy their cover on Madonna's "Lucky Star." I have never heard the original "Night Shift" by Siouxsie and the Banshees, and judging by SS's cover, I'm not sure I want to. The SS cover is simply boring, nearly featureless, and has little, if any, emotion, although I will give them credit for doing the cover considering they wrote and finished it on the night before it was due to the label.All in all, if you're a hardcore SS fan, by all means buy this single if you actually manage to find it, but otherwise, try "The Three Calamities" album if you're just being introduced to the group."