Reviews

How long have we all been waiting for this album, pining for that band which we love so much, replaying our CD's and DVD over and over again trying to figure out what this record will potentially sound like. It wasn't even a month ago that I found myself in the basement of CBGB's, talking to the band, hearing their enthusiasm and excitement for the record which they referred to as their "best ever." I'm really trying hard to feel the way Tom Gabel does about this but for some reason it's just not clicking. "Searching For a Former Clarity," is not a full blown disappointment, but perhaps just a bit of a let down in the third degree.
 
It's no shocker that a bunch of demos were leaked onto the internet some months ago and people began writing off this album as garbage before it even hit the shelves. By the way, demos should never be hailed as a finished product or a prime example of the best a band can do. Anyway, the opening track, "Miami" dabbles in the horn department a little bit, which is alright by me but throughout the album, those brasskicking melodies never return.  Regardless, "Unprotected Sex With Multiple Partners," is a pretty good song, and "From Her Lips To God's Ears," is about everyone's favorite example of a smart woman with bad ideas and nasty teeth, Condoleeza Rice. The album kind of loses its "oomph" towards the middle somewhere around "Joy" and "Holy Shit,"because for some reason those just aren't catchy song titles. Not to mention the cover reads "Holy Sh*t," as if we don't really know what they meant by that. That's f*cking f*cked up. Bet you can't tell what I was saying there either!
 
I'm nearly devastated that this album is as unimpressive as it is. Not to say it's not good, I just haven't completely put my finger on what's missing here. Maybe someone else can help me out. Comments, please.