EP Review: "The Initial Report" by The Casualty Clerks

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? That’s surely the feeling for the three modern day cowboys  of The Casualty Clerks, as they loaded the 12 gauge rounds into their bass amps. The initial buzz on these guys had them sounding like a mixture of Kyuss and High on Fire. I disagree. I think these guys sound like Clutch’s little cousin punching way above their weight.

The opening to Technocrat gives you all the red meat you need to down shift that ’78 Trans Am into 3^rd, but it really starts to get interesting during the middle part of the song. This is where the Clutch comes in. This band may have spent a fair amount of time kicking around the clubs in central Missouri, but they’re clearly looking to blow the rafter lights out at the Budokan. There’s an anthemic quality to the music that really elevates it from the greasy, back alley grooves of their brethren .

Things never really slow down from there. EP closer “Stand Straight” stutter-steps from the main groove into a surprisingly melodic double-tracked chorus. Again, these guys never seem stray too far from the main sources of audible lava coming out of the speakers. Even their “quieter” dynamics sound huge. You can witness all the awesomeness yourself by visiting the bands bandcamp and Facebook pages…make sure you have back up headphones…it’s unlikely one pair could survive the sheer horsepower.