Fair Weather Fan LP
The packaging - fantastic. The CD - even more fantastic. CLAIRMEL are a band I got mildly familiar with a few years ago as they had a track on "Direction", a Polyvinyl Records sampler, and I was all hot under the collar then. Surprisingly that track is on this album too - a sign that the track was so good they HAD to include it or a sign that CLAIRMEL just don't have many songs. The former I'd say. Soundwise they follow the same kind of format as BRAID, RAIL, et al, although a bit bouncier and punchier all round. They also have a slight sprinkling of ARCHERS OF LOAF too. The nice, rough vocals are almost drowned out by the intensity of the music at times but that's not bad. It works well in fact. Gotta say then I love this record already and I've only had it two days, and I love the complicated tracing paper exterior almost as much.
--FRACTURE (MD)
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If you've been around the Florida punk scene for a few years, then you've probably heard of Clairmel, because they've been around too. Ironically, I first heard a recorded version of Clairmel on Chicago-based Polyvinyl Records' Directions comp a couple years back. Their song "Enzo" is one of my favorites on that comp, which is saying a lot considering bands like Braid and Back of Dave are there, too.
Fair Weather Fan, which includes "Enzo," is thirteen songs of straightforward, catchy, hyper punk, and well-written lyrics to boot. The opening lines of "Three on the Tree" just won't leave my head. This is what Jawbreaker might sound like if they had two guitars that rarely play the same exact thing and even more snare rolls from the drummer.
Clairmel have eschewed perfection for energy on this recording, which is a good approach for their sound, I think. If you get a chance to see them live and like what you hear, you'll no doubt like this recording as well. Of course, this is available on vinyl too, both with great overlaid cover art.
--INK 19 (T.J. Stankus)
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For Clairmel, punk has always been more than three chords and a fashionable snarl. Fair Weather Fan explores horrors far beyond the stilted comforts of suburbia and takes aim at the twisted political values of a disintegrating national dumping ground. Clairmel's indictments come at a quick pace which brings a passion filled disc full of tunes.
Clairmel shows no interest in easy profit by playing to present-day adolescent fears. Backed by the fervent guitar work of Don and Dave, Clairmel instead challenges listeners with grim dissections of mankind as a whore house, offering dire predictions of a population's party gone bad. The songs are wordy, filled with earnest warnings about the continuing struggle between clean and dirty, but the band hasn't lost its frantic drive or knack for fuckin-loud punk rock.
There is an air of innocuousness within the more conventional song, "The Doing and The Done." These lyrics pledge to a fallen lover: "Fingertips across your skin / Fingernails will grow and they will soil, and reflect within / Close your eyes and ponder all your mistakes." It's not surprising that Clairmel has a cult following when they continuously show a tenderness that is somehow hidden under a streamlined shield of reality.
There is a sameness to some songs that keep the album from becoming an imperial star destroyer. But even if other "punk" bands sell more records by aping the old "punk" sounds, Clairmel are working to bring a deeper sense of purpose to a music they can honestly call their own.
-Tampa Zine (Gary Silver)
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First the work done on the presentation & the artwork are just wonderful!.It's a real pleasure for the eyes!.And musically...fuckin'hot release!.Clairmel is delivering an intense,passionate Emotional HC with a fine melodic touch.Vocals are sung with passion & conviction with slight screamed backing vocals on a few tracks and reenforcing the beauty and the power of seduction you can feel song after song. Clairmel know at the perfection how performing songs to reach & conquier your heart!.Great!.
--MOSQUITO
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Clairmel is one hell of a fantastic band as well as cool characters. fair weather fan is by far one of the best songs i've ever heard. Damn i've been listening to that band for a bout 4 or 5 years. whoah! have you heard their split with hot water?
--Dixie,Unregistered User,some discussion board
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i'm listening to a blindspot records sampler cd from way back when. well, not way back, but two years. there's a track by a band called clairmel. the first few times i listened to it, i thought, "hm, what a cute voice that girl has!" but soon dismissed the song as another little poppy tune. So imagine my surprise when we went to one of the last rock shows at detroit's zoot's coffee house last september. hot water music, wallside, empire state games, and a few other bands were playing. i was in a miserable apres-breakup mood in which everything reminded me of my ex (i started to cry when we got on I-75 because ben lived near an I-75 exit. how lame i am). so i mostly stayed outside while the rock continued on the inside. before long, what did i hear but that lilting voice from the clairmel song. i scurried inside to see what the voice's owner looked like. i had this vision of a tall girl with shortish blonde or reddish hair, perhaps with a tattoo of a japanese kanji or something on her arm (i like to make ideas of what people look like, okay?). So i rounded the corner and imagine my surprise when the singer looked nothing like what i had expected. there was no blonde or reddish hair. there was no kanji tattoo. IT WAS A MAN! there he stood, crooning into the microphone with his silky voice. i felt like i was in the crying game.
--some girl that thinks we are hankshaw, or vice versa
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The following is a listing of bands that lack nothing except a very deserving record deal. They're part of the local and statewide bounty of quality bands that sonically assault Gainesville on any given weekend. Included in this week's column is also a mini-glossary of current slang to assist you in being as hip as you wanna be. So listen up know-it-alls, and take good notes. "Word is born, kids" [i.e., I'm aware of this] that Clairmel, from Tampa, along with Whipper Snapper and This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, will be at the Hardback. The show is Saturday night around 10:30. Cover ranges between $3-5. As a young lad, I remember treasuring my Dead Milkmen tapes. The thing I liked most about them was their ability to steer clear of labels or categories. The same can be said of Clairmel. They can be considered a punk outfit, but only because they can rant and shout as good as any other band. And, sure, some of their songs are really fast and disjointed. But, then again, others are not. In a three-minute song, Clairmel will throw in a dozen tempo changes, distorted as well as tight guitar riffs, and quite the vocal range. They might start off a song with a ballad-type intro, sweet harmonies and all, then cognitive dissonance kicks in and they blow their amps. Lucky for you, they might slow things down for a few seconds just to make sure you're keeping up with them. Then they take off again. Clairmel are "the Bomb" [i.e., the best; the most impressive]. They're a talented, diverse, passionate band that is capable of making anyone a fan. They demand your respect and attention, not to mention, your support.
--Jose Villalba
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Split with Hot Water Music
"Macho," "testosterone," and "manly" are all words that are often used as negative criticisms within the punk rock scene, but I can't imagine an accurate description of Hot Water Music existing that doesn't use those words in a very positive way. I'm talking about the classic, blue-collar definition of a Man, not the misconstrued shirtless/braindead thugs that have to "mosh" at shows. Manly in the context of sacrifice and an honest day's work. It comes through in everything they do. It's in their music, their lyrics, and in the between song banter at shows. The two songs on the Hot Water Music side of this split record offer an excellent representation of this. "Things on a Dashboard" is a sincere song about being in a band on the road pulling into Anytown, USA. "Elektra" was inspired by their battle with Elektra Records over the rights to the Hot Water Music name. It's one of those rare David vs. Goliath battles in which the good guys came out on top.
Tampa's Clairmel plays gritty, no-nonsense punk rock as well. It's more in the Jawbreaker/Husker Du vein than what HWM does, but it's music characterized by honestly and integrity as well. When Clairmel's first CD came out, I listened to that thing all the time for weeks straight. This reminds me of that time, but the two songs here seem more immediate and intense that the usual Clairmel fare. They provide a fitting counterpart to the HWM side.
No Idea deserves mention here as well, for continually releasing high quality homegrown bands. All parties involved with this record deserve to be heard and supported.
--INK 19 (Jason Rockhill)
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Tampa's Clairmel plays gritty, no-nonsense punk rock as well. It's more in the Jawbreaker/Husker Du vein than what HWM does, but it's music characterized by honestly and integrity as well. When Clairmel's first CD came out, I listened to that thing all the time for weeks straight. This reminds me of that time, but the two songs here seem more immediate and intense that the usual Clairmel fare. They provide a fitting counterpart to the HWM side. No Idea deserves mention here as well, for continually releasing high quality homegrown bands. All parties involved with this record deserve to be heard and supported.
--Jason Rockhill
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Really eye-catching 8.5" inch, marbled brown vinyl! HOT WATER MUSIC do shouty, melodic emocore. Imagine if Dicky Barrett of the MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES fronted an emo band, they'd sound like HOT WATER MUSIC. "Things on a Dashboard" to a while to sink in, but after a few listens it really stuck. The other song on here, "Elektra", featured on Crank's "[don't forget to] breathe" comp is a good one too. I really liked HOT WATER MUSIC's tracks, but CLAIRMEL rock harder! Hard-hitting emocore with slightly less ruff vocals to go along with their melodic touch. "Mealhog" reminded me a bit of BRAID. Their second song, "Frontpage" is just awesome.
--POSER (shawn)
Cease split
Clairmel are totally on that Face To Face road with catchy hooks, but at the same time hard enough not to be considered pop punk. The first song, “Predator & Prey” reminds me of an Oozzies song. Cease are like a Celtic Frost/Melvins combo, I don’t like them. It’s just the same hashed out chords that bands have been using since early 80s death metal.
--10 THINGS ZINE (Mark)
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This 7" comes with issue #5 of ADD for $5. The Clairmel side has two tracks that sound good in their emo-punk ways (not emo as the indy debasement of the word). Cease contribute a loud rocker that features talking and then the devil throat singing of lyrics. The song is a bit too long, but these evil core kids will torture you anyway possible. This 7" is not so bad when you consider a zine comes with it.
--IMPACT PRESS
