Lantern

Rating

Album: Lantern
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Kapsburger, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
2)	Canon, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
3)	5/4, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
4)	2:3:5, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
5)	Death & the Maiden, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
6)	Lantern, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
7)	Tides of Washington Bridge, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
8)	Song of the Cricket, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion, The
9)	Fiddlegree, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
10)	Compass, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
11)	Voisins, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
12)	Tides (Piano), for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion

Album: Lantern
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Kapsburger, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
2)	Canon, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
3)	5/4, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
4)	2:3:5, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
5)	Death & the Maiden, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
6)	Lantern, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
7)	Tides of Washington Bridge, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
8)	Song of the Cricket, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion, The
9)	Fiddlegree, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
10)	Compass, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
11)	Voisins, for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion
12)	Tides (Piano), for voice, guitar, ukulele, strings, winds, piano & percussion

Performer Notes

Personnel: Padma Newsome (vocals, mandola, violin, viola, melodica, piano); Bryce Dessner (guitar, ukulele); Rachael Elliott (melodica, bassoon); Thomas Kozumplik (percussion).
Audio Mixer: Nick Lloyd.
Recording information: Firehouse 12; Pannonica, Nantes, France.
Photographer: Vincent Moon.
Imagine 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. ~ Jason Nickey

Professional Reviews

Uncut (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he 'contemporary classical' tag doesn't do justice to their cinematic, intense instrumental narratives; like Mogwai's, they tend to build to within an inch of breaking point."

Magnet (p.93) - "'Kapsburger,' a nod to the German composer, flows gently into 'Canon,' a track whose loping rhythm section and melodica melody could be inserted into Tortoise's MILLIONS NOW LIVING WILL NEVER DIE."

The Wire (p.47) - "The main strength of LANTERN is that, apart from the subtlety and invention involved in its construction, the musicians have come up with tunes to move all but the most aloof."