Alex Clare – The Lateness of the Hour (Album Review)
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Written by Ryan Tinslay
As far as debut album’s go, Alex Clare has already stirred up quite a fuss in the underground scene. Prior to the release of ‘The Lateness of the Hour’ Alex has had three singles and four videos to his name, not bad at all for the Island Records singer. The only way to define Alex Clare would be along the lines of a mixture of extremely soulful vocals, to be the envy of many singer/songwriters in the business, smoothly incorporated with heavy bass lines, courtesy of producers Diplo & Switch. On the surface this creation appears to be the next big thing, but looking deeper to the whole album, plenty more work needs to be put in by Mr. Clare to truly make it big.
Every album aims for an opening track that will surrender their audience’s attention. ‘Up All Night’ does exactly this with its arrangement of heavily effected guitars and an overly enthusiastic snare drum that pounds your ears into a merciful submission. Clare’s vocal melodies do everything in their power to have you humming along for days - a recipe to a fantastic song. The production skills of Diplo & Switch shine through brilliantly in ‘Treading Water’. Admittedly a softer song, radiantly showcasing Clare’s talent, but the bright, aggressive bass lines have been manipulated perfectly to beautifully compliment Clare and create a rapid rise in the UK’s head-nodding community.
Elegantly moving on you find yourself slowed even further down, into a state of trance as ‘Relax My Beloved’ sentimentally warms your soul. The opening line of “Relax my beloved, don’t worry for me” carves a reassuring message that the only thing needed is to lay back and gently be massaged by the soothing bass lines, once again superbly made by the production duo. The album reaches an astonishing climax as it ventures into the calm yet destructive world of ‘Too Close”. A futuristic mash-up of soul and reggae truly does portray the image that Mr. Clare can really reach out to further audiences and establish himself alongside big names. The exceedingly tuneful verses, accompanied by a laid-back drum rhythm give the impression that Alex intends to purely show of his voice. Oh how wrong could you be? Clare’s personal instrument never falters, but it is how the verse cascades to form an avalanche of a chorus, that is fast, furious and energetic, that really captures the imagination. This is by far the highlight of the album, and even party material.
As the song suggests, ‘Hummingbird’ is a tranquil mixture of percussion and chords. A simple yet effective formula, purposefully crafted for an easy listen. In some sense a welcome relief from the world of deep bass lines, instead replaced by a piano.
Unfortunately it is from this point Alex Clare takes a different direction that fans of his single releases may not be to familiar with. Moving even further away from his dubstep inspired mixes, to a more choral, soulful melody, almost like a modern Aretha or Stevie, with ‘Hands are Clever'. For what it is this song is brilliant, but a field apart from the material that gain him his publicity. ‘Tightrope’ appears to follow the same path as his other slower songs but it fails to engage and interest like his other songs have done oh so well. The irony is that a tightrope is exciting and adrenaline-pumped, unlike the repetitive, and rather annoying hi-hat that features throughout.
The album quietly continues with the slow, rather psychedelic track 'Whispering'. A thudding yet ambient kick drum exemplifies this emotion-filled journey of a song. Once again, not the dub-happy genre fans of earlier releases were expecting, but still a good song in its own right. And if it’s emotion that you’re after, “Love You” sums it all up with its very title. Disappointingly Alex, companied with Diplo & Switch, never really return to the exciting and energetic mixes of previous material. A lose attempt is made during ‘Sanctuary’, but it never cuts through in such an absurd manner as before.
A man and his piano is by far the most powerful tool known to humankind to express feelings. In an attempt of a soft, gentle, but long-lasting finale, Alex does this beautifully. At a final attempt to present the world with his glorious voice, ‘I Won’t Let You Down’ highlights his natural ability and charisma.
‘The Lateness of the Hour’, overall, resembles a slight glimmer of Jekyll and Hyde. A fascinating first half of the album that is designed to lure in support from a variety of genres, due to its soulful routes mixed with futuristic sounds. Strongly contrasted with the latter half, slowing down the tempo and unwinding, purely with the intention of showcasing his voice. This is by no means a poor album (in fact it is very, very good), but it is similar to a movie, where all the funny parts are in the trailer and the film just doesn’t live up to expectation.
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Every album aims for an opening track that will surrender their audience’s attention. ‘Up All Night’ does exactly this with its arrangement of heavily effected guitars and an overly enthusiastic snare drum that pounds your ears into a merciful submission. Clare’s vocal melodies do everything in their power to have you humming along for days - a recipe to a fantastic song. The production skills of Diplo & Switch shine through brilliantly in ‘Treading Water’. Admittedly a softer song, radiantly showcasing Clare’s talent, but the bright, aggressive bass lines have been manipulated perfectly to beautifully compliment Clare and create a rapid rise in the UK’s head-nodding community.
