The Dirty Clergy carry on the tradition
Hailing from Winfield, Alabama, The Dirty Clergy has been described as garage, indie, pop, rock, vintage, retro, and more. While any of those titles could be applied without any fuss, allow me to add a new descriptor to the lot: Lynchian.
Having spent a few hours listening to their latest album, In Waves, I am struck by how absolutely perfect they would be for the next David Lynch project. Harking back to the excellent soundtrack produced by Julee Cruise and Angelo Badalamenti for the original Twin Peaks series, the music is breathy, surreal, and, well, kind of magical.
Here is a band that would be perfectly at home on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders’ Until the End of the World, arguably one of the greatest motion picture soundtracks of the nineties. To offer a basis for comparison, that soundtrack features the talents of Nick Cave, R.E.M., Elvis Costello, Lou Reed, T-Bone Burnett, Neneh Cherry, and the aforementioned Julee Cruise, to name a few.
That The Dirty Clergy could reasonably keep company with such a crowd lends credence to their designation as an alt band, keeping in mind that alt is a broad description. The Clergy’s take on it? They manage to take lush arrangements with echoey, dream-like vocals, and superimpose that over fairly traditional chord progressions, resulting in music that is familiar enough to be comfortable, different enough to be wholly and refreshingly original.
“Homesick”, my standout favorite on an album that scores a hit with every track, envelops the listener in a cocoon of gorgeous orchestration before setting sail to a place of peaceful introspection. That isn’t just two-bit imagery on my part.
With a pair of good headphones and your eyes closed, the music really does seem to carry you away from where you are and closer to where you wish you were, capturing all the longing that a word like “homesick” conveys. The emotional impact is unexpected and stunning.
“Trials”, the first single released from the upcoming album, is likewise replete with ethereal vocals and instrumentation, though driven by a straightforward drum beat. The result is a song that might qualify as alt-pop, but the overwhelming take away is that the band has found a voice, a rare and unique voice, that permeates this album, and whatever vehicle they use for delivering that voice, it remains as individualistic and recognizable as a fingerprint.
Having pored over the band’s bio, I have to say that I think that Brian Manasco, KY Carter, and Cody Moorehead may not be giving themselves enough credit. It isn’t that they are self-effacing so much as humble, and that’s an admirable trait to be sure, but it leaves to people like me to say that there is far more here than meets the eye, a level of genuine artistry that borders on transcendent and far outstrips any notion of “indie garage”.
The album is set for release on October 25th, though you can preview some of the tracks on the band’s website now (thedirtyclergy.com). I am loathe to refer to the band as retro. I think it is more apt to say that they are carrying on a tradition from one of the most interesting periods in modern musical history, a tradition that fell by the wayside for too long and is overdue for a welcome return.
However you would describe them, what is undeniable is that the band is one of a kind and is as talented cerebrally as instrumentally. Deconstructing the tunes on In Waves, it is clear that there is genius at work.