ALBUM REVIEW: Clowns – Endless (Fat Wreck Chords)
Clowns are a hardcore punk band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 2009, and this is their fifth album.
They’ve had a change of personnel since the last one, 2019’s Nature/Nurture, which saw them nominated for an ARIA Award for best hard rock or heavy metal album.
Cameron Rust has joined on guitar, joining fellow six-stringer Jarrod Goon, bassist Hanny J and founding vocalist Steve Williams and drummer Jake Laderman.
Since their inception, Clowns have become one of the best-known of Oz’s new wave of punk rock exports, paving the way for the likes of Amyl & the Sniffers, The Chats and Mannequin Death Squad.
The central theme of Endless is immortality and overcoming adversity, and Clowns have clearly progressed from the straightforward hardcore of their early albums, incorporating a more metal sound in places.
That’s certainly the case in the slightly superfluous opening title track, but it’s merely a teaser for the thrilling rollercoaster of a record which follows.
Formaldehyde is an adrenalin-fueled opener proper, full of energy and defiance as Williams screams “I’m pretty sure I’ll never die/’Cos I’m soaking in formaldehyde.“
Scared To Die captures Williams’ experience of lonely isolation during lockdown, while Thanks 4 Nothing, with Hanny on lead vocals, captures the restlessness and pent-up energy that came from being unable to leave home.
Lead single Bisexual Awakening tackles Williams’ thoughts on his own sexual preferences, and the keytar-soaked I Got A Knife, featuring Cecilia Boström from Swedish punks The Baboon Show, is about self-defence.
Sarah, originally released a couple of years ago on a 7in single, has been reimagined and recorded with fresh energy, and you eventually release it’s not about a person, but the role of serotonin in a toxic relationship.
The spoken-word closer A Widow’s Son – nearly nine minutes long – is Clowns pushing the boundaries of what their audience will accept.
It’s a spaghetti western retelling of the story of notorious Aussie outlaw Ned Kelly, and a brave ending to an album of searing hardcore punk, but one which somehow fits with what’s gone before. I like this album. In fact, I like it a lot. 8.5/10.
