Bassist and producer digs deep into his influences with debut solo album.
Electric Hero aka Chris Clarke was previously bassist in Danny and the Champions of The World. Regulars at London’s Betsy Trotwood will be familiar with him playing stand-up bass in the bluegrass ensemble Foghorn Leghorn. Clarke’s career goes back to early 1990s indie with Pete Astor & The Holy Road, country rock in The Rockingbirds, Lost Son of Littlefield and Horse Latitudes. In his Reservoir Studios (“The North London Stax”) Clarke has engineered and produced for many artists. Perhaps it is understandable that he decided on a change of direction, to make a solo album.
‘Another Time’ is the result. The press release describes it as Clarke, “realising the sounds in his head and wearing his influences on his sleeve”. He certainly lets those sounds and influences rip. The sounds ringing in Clarke’s head come from influences as diverse as Syd Barrett psychedelia, rock not dissimilar to The Who, Prefab Sprout, Nick Lowe and Wreckless Eric. If anything binds all that and ‘Another Time’ it is an essential sense of ‘Englishness’. Americana this is not and if much of Clarke’s previous output is more suited to these pages we should not be bound by genre and embrace a musician who is clearly enjoying his new life. A big part of that new approach is the younger musicians who join him. Jamie Alex Pope’s guitars are a big part of this new sound, along with the drums of his nephew Elliot and Celina Liesegang and Steve Huddleston on backing vocals.
Opener ‘Yesterday’s Tomorrows’ fires a salvo of space invader machine sounds to soften up the listener for Pope’s throbbing guitar line. To psychedelia straight from the 1960s Clarke muses about the past, concluding that if, “Those hopes ring hollow” tomorrow looked better when viewed from yesterday. Very much led by Clarke’s distinctive solid bass a more direct rock feel takes over on ‘All That Remains’, ideal for another look back, this time with a defiance and certainly no regret. Lyrically Clarke doe not mess as he makes clear in the menacing ‘One Last Time’, “Don’t want no explanations/ Just good vibrations/ No time or inclinations or impersonations”.
Clarke feels as if he is getting a lot off his chest with those heavy-duty rock songs. The airy indie ‘Brother O Brother’ with Pope deftly switching between slide and a more jangly sound around Clarke’s bass brings a lighter feel. Same with ‘On The Outside Looking In’, that heads in a more pop direction. The record is all the better for this change of pace. ‘Good Times’ and ‘If I Had’ continue in that vein with lovely harmonies to lift the spirits. Song of the album is ‘Let’s Blow The Whole Thing Up’, a marvellous two-finger salute to authority with a carefree tempo to match. Clarke holds it all together, just, with a clear nod to Wreckless Eric.
In ‘Another Time’ Clarke mines deep seams of influences, possibly wider than a lot of his previous output might indicate. Electric Hero is a well-chosen moniker, particularly for Clarke’s ventures in rock and psychedelia but for this reviewer’s money the way he pulls on his more indie roots makes the record. He has a fine band and they should certainly get back into the studio when It will be interesting to see how Clarke’s develops his various influences.
