Lantern

by Jason NickeyImagine Calexico getting together with Rachel's for a session of moody instrumentals and you have something close to Brooklyn's Clogs. Heavy on strings, but also incorporating everything from the melodica to bassoon, Clogs evoke wine-dark seas, lighthouses, and fog on the 12 tracks that make up Lantern, their fourth full-length. It's hard not to think of Hawthorne, Poe, or a Russell Banks novel when listening to these misty, hypnotic numbers. There is one song with vocals, the title cut, and it's a somber one that creeps along with lightly plunked percussion. The rest of the collection, however, would sit well next to music of the more baroque Feathers, who sound somewhat like a more polished city cousin to Clogs. Compared to the previous Clogs album, Lantern is more fleshed out and even less "rock" sounding, further blurring the line between post-rock and classical. However, there are moments, such as on "The Song of the Cricket," where they flirt with bluegrass and old-time music. Clogs, who share members with the more singer/songwriterly rock band the National, have obviously learned to apply a degree of pop songcraft to their pseudo-neo-classical music. It may never fly in the conservatory, but the music of Clogs is sure to make the bar set feel a little more cultured.