Clinic Experiment With New Sound on 'Bubblegum' -- Exclusive Video

Posted on Oct 6th 2010 3:40PM by Adam Horne

Gino Depinto, AOL

Liverpudlian rockers Clinic have established a cult following over the past 15 years for their brash, harmonically complex post-punk. With their sixth album 'Bubblegum,' the band has headed in a new direction, adopting a low-key psychedelic folk sound -- about as "pop" as a group that wears surgical masks at every show can sound. Clinic frontman Ade Blackburn recently sat down with Spinner to talk about the new direction as well as the evolution of the band's often-discussed visuals.

"We kind of felt like we've taken it so far in one way, as far as something a bit darker or garage-sounding music," Blackburn tells Spinner. "It just felt like naturally that we wanted to do something summer-sounding or just something brighter, to do something outside of what people would expect us to do." To achieve a new sound, Blackburn explains, the band needed to approach the record in a new way. "With this we almost did it in a singer-songwriter sort of way, where it's just based around doing the songs on an acoustic guitar," he says.

Apparently, Blackburn had been going back and revisiting old records from his youth. "Things like Glen Campbell, Perry Como, going back to music that me, Mom and Dad would listen to," he says. The big-band-throwback influence was even referenced on the 'Bubblegum' cover art, which resembles a '50s to '60s era jazz sleeve.

That subtle reference doesn't come as a surprise, given Clinic's past appreciation for visuals. The band originally conceived the idea for its onstage outfits as an homage to groups like Devo and the Crime. "For us it was something entertaining," Blackburn says.

The masks also helped Clinic create an air of mystique around the band, something that has become increasingly difficult as other groups broadcast their ups and downs via social networks. "That can take a lot away from things," Blackburn says. "When I started listening to music, I really valued that ... You couldn't own everything or know everything about who made the music. I just think it makes it more mundane."

For the reserved, quiet Blackburn, it's a new music business climate he feels no obligation to adapt to. The most important lesson he has learned over the course of Clinic's career has been "just go with your instincts. The music business is a kind of very twisted game which I'm not really interested in."

Have a look at the exclusive interview with Clinic frontman Ade Blackburn below.