Chances are this may not help, but bare with me. Clinic is an eccentric band bown to their scrubs. Call the doctor scrubs, amsks and clothes a gimmick, but sometimes aa band has to do what they have to for attention and a focused viewpoint in music...just like other bands that are influenced by The Pixies and reside in Liverpool. Now to the CD. One listen to this and you may get a cutdown of sound since Clinic's Internal Wrangler, but you gotto admit anyway, that it is a magical masterpiece to behold. I did. Once I listen to it, it was the toast of my iPod. And the thing is the review will be less helpful because I can't describe this album but magical, amazing and as essential as Internal Wrangler. "Fingers" is a song that rounded up everysong in meaning. The highlight besides "Thank You (For Living)" (my personal favorite), The Majestic #2, and "The Magician". I swear, this is not a CD to pass up. Clinic is not a band to pass up. Give it a chacne and you will see how different and hauntigly stunning this album is.
Rating: 8/10

i heard clinic's first album, internal wrangler, when it first came out. i was blown away. i'd never heard anything like this, and it seemed it was what i'd been waiting for. maybe it was. i still listen to the thing all the time.

then their second cd came out, walking with thee. the first thing i noticed was that so many of their beats and instrumentation sounded like they were stolen off the first cd...not whole songs, mind you. just bits and a few seconds here and there. but still...

now winchester cathedral. sigh. to describe it well, i have to connect the dots.

with their first cd here was a band with so much wild energy. they were almost psychotic at times, and just fun to listen to. it's as if they realized this, and said "okay, let's tone that energy down and get serious about this music thing." thus, their second album. then, for their third: "okay, that was good. now let's shave off a little more enthusiasm and we've got ourselves a perfect record."

i love clinic and always will. but i wish they will find the sound that they seem to be striving for on these two new records before they put out another replica.

Clinic seems to be in the middle of going somewhere, but "Winchester Cathedral" indicates that they're not quite sure where. While their spare, vaguely haunting music seems to lack enthusiasm, and really doesn't seem to go anywhere new. Their third album is not really good, not bad, but merely satisfying and muted.

Beyond that shtick for appearing in surgical scrubs, Clinic is known for first having a sort of wild, erratic sound, then toning it down as they strove for musical growth. They strive some more in "Winchester Cathdral." It starts off strong with the complex, stomping-rhythmic "Country Mile," and the eerie "Annie."

But things crash to a stop in "Vertical Take Off in Egypt," which is both confusing and over-dense, laced with a sound like spinning bike wheels. It feels like an experiment, but not a successful one. It's jarring to encounter it, and the experience of the faint "Home" and guitar-rock "WDYYB" were overshadowed by it. It's followed by some fairly nice pop songs, but ends on a weird note with the instrumental "Fingers." It sounds like it was tacked on -- the energetic, driven "Thank You (For Living)" would have made a better finale.

Nobody can really expect a band to have loads of enthusiasm in their third album, but can't Clinic sound like they're having even a LITTLE fun? Drummer Carl Turney said in "Under the Radar" that this album was supposed to sound less polished than its predecessor -- warmer, grittier, more organic.

Well, it sounds a lot grittier and more organic. But warmer? Well... not exactly. It sounds a little too deliberate, a little too carefully crafted. No spontaneous spark. Guys -- maybe taking a year and a half is not such a good idea. It can create technical excellence, but can also iron out your passion.

Technically, they have a similar sound -- clarinets and pianos, mixed in with bass and guitar. The last part of the album (except "Fingers") is the best, even mixing in a Klezmer in the sinuous, exotic pop of "August," and a wonderfully frantic sound. Elsewhere it's soft and psychedelic, like in "Home" -- these songs imply that Clinic could surge forward into a new and even better sound.

Good luck understanding Ade Blackburn. He sounds royally P.O.ed, but I can't figure out what he's singing about -- little snatches float out like "and we wouldn't touch you," "in the countryside" and the occasional "yeoww," but most of his singing is buried. His muffled voice is second fiddle to the music.

While songs like "Falstaff" and "August" hint at brilliance, the sound of "Winchester Cathedral" is still very much as Clinic's past albums. It's a pleasant listen, but not a great one. Perhaps that will come with their next release...