Album Review: Clowns - Lucid Again

Melbourne punks Clowns always deliver a sonic punch to the face.

Whether it's their chaotic live shows or potent albums, one always feels bruised and battered after a run-in with these, uh, clowns. That short, fast, rampant sound has felt like a steady onslaught across the five-piece's previous two releases, and their latest Lucid Again is no different. But there's a heck of a lot more going on here - a psychedelic bent, some straight singing from shouty frontman Stevie Williams - and it works, making for an interesting listen and opens the door that little bit wider to newcomers.

New listeners can lean in to the opening title track - Williams' gentle croon acting as a guide through twangy guitars - before the band pulls shirts over heads and delivers a punch to the guts with tracks like 15 Minutes Of Infamy and punchy single Dropped My Brain, solid flag bearers of Clowns' sound. But Like A Knife At A Gunfight, Pickle and Noise In The Night delve back into swirling psychedelic guitars in between rampant riffs. Even Destroy The Evidence and closer Not Coping, both brutal bangers, open things up with a steady pace for motifs and breakdowns to shine. It's this yin and yang approach that makes Lucid Again Clowns' best to date.