Some artists get by purely being weird.
Art itself, as a concept, exists solely for people to express all the weird thoughts going on in their brains and no form of art tends to cast a brighter spotlight on people’s eccentricities and quirks than music.
Being weird is a key component of music. It is the rawest element which can be found in the pillars of creativity. Without the sweet embrace of experimentation music is merely bland, colorless, easily digested substance and that’s not what art in any way, shape, or form should be.
Keeping this in mind, British singer-songwriter and experimental pop artist, Clarence Clarity came onto the scene last year with his critically-acclaimed full-length album debut “No Now.” Specializing in his signature sound of his dense, glitchy production, Clarity caught the attention of listeners while experimenting with the traditional aspects of pop music.
Clarity’s sound can safely be labeled as strange. He pushes boundaries in a boldly abrasive fashion that many may find off-putting at first listen. Pairing his busy sound with cryptic lyrics that add depth to his music’s calculated, yet chaotic, aesthetic.
The sounds captured by Clarity is atypical of the mainstream and his peculiarities extend beyond his music, bleeding into the way his music is released and marketed. Clarity’s most recent EP, aptly titled “SAME,” serves as a shrine to his oddball tone. “SAME” features five tracks. Each one is also titled “SAME.” Each one sounds exactly the same. Get it?
At face value, the move seems entirely conceited. If played straight through, “SAME” would just seem like a needlessly pretentious experiment devoid of much real value. Fortunately, the accompanying press release of “SAME” has been rather self-aware.
“Five internet ready tracks that sound exactly the same. Or do they?”
They do. They definitely do. Or at least any change is completely negligible to the human ears.
The concept behind “SAME” is undoubtedly tongue-in-cheek as shortly after its release Clarity shared with the website, “The Line of Best Fit,” an overly elaborate pseudo-analysis of the “differences” between each track.
For example, the first track on “SAME” is compared to a “…gang of evil feral kids smashing you around the face with a glass bottle of angry wasps,” While the second track is a “lighthearted look at differences between borders/nationalism and culture/community.”
While “SAME” is certainly cast in a humorous light the music is by no means a joke. Listening through the EP entirely you hear the same song five-times in a row, and five times is not enough. “SAME” is everything fans have come to expect from Clarity’s music. Its sound is unapologetically aggressive and relentlessly busy while managing to be equally overwhelming and catchy. It is music that solely belongs to Clarity, not easily mistaken with the work of any other artist I can think of.
Some may see Clarity’s “SAME” as a brilliant, enlightening experiment while others may see it as nothing but as quirky gimmick used to grab attention. Maybe it is a little bit of both. Either way, it will at least be interesting to see what comes next from the London-based artist.
