Klammer – The Day Before Yesterday (Album – Heavy Metal Records)
Genre/Influences: Dark-Wave, Post-Punk.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Klammer is a UK band from Leeds which was set up by Steve Whitfield (who did some production work for bands like The Cure, The Mission ao). They’ve already released a few albums and now strike back with thirteen new tracks.
Content: When I hear Leeds I immediately think of The Sisters Of Mercy, The March Violets, The Mission and so many more great formations. Klammer is clearly driven by the good-old Dark-Wave spirit although their sound comes closer to the guitar magic of The Cult. You can also hear it a bit in the production of the vocals.
+ + + : No innovation but just well-crafted and efficient Cold-Wave music. The album is carried by low, resonating bass lines and impressive guitar parts injecting the true spirit to this work. There are several great songs featured, but I especially recommend listening to “The Insider”.
– – – : There’s no real surprise listening to this album. It even has something predictable although it’s cool Dark-Wave stuff.
Conclusion: If you’re an 80s die-hard fan you are for sure going to like Klammer’s new opus.
Best songs: “The Insider”, “Oblivion”, “Broken Dreams In A Crashing Car”.
Rate: 7½.
Artist: https://www.klammer.co.uk / www.facebook.com/klammerband
Label: https://revolverrecords.com / www.facebook.com/HeavyMetalRecs
“The Day Before Yesterday” was released on 25 February 2022 through Heavy Metal Records, on CD in a digipak with a four-page lyric booklet, and digitally. It is the band’s fourth album. The thirteen tracks are “Pass The Test”, “I Really Really Want To Believe”, “Progress (Or The Lack Of)”, “Broken Dreams In A Crashing Car”, “While You Sleep”, “The Blind Leading The Blind”, “The Insider”, “A New Direction”, “Oblivion”, “I Wish I Could Bring You Back”, “Heartworm”, “Limbic Pastime” and “Alone”. Writing is credited to Steve Whitfield, Poss Strickland, Mike Addy and Bruno Almeida. The album is not carried on the band’s Bandcamp page.
Side-Line covered the lead single when the band released ‘Broken Dreams In A Crashing Car’ in November 2021, four months ahead of the album.
Klammer – Broken Dreams In A Crashing Car (Official Video):
About Klammer
Klammer is a post-punk and dark wave band from Leeds, England. The group is Poss Strickland, Steve Whitfield, Mike Addy and Bruno Almeida. Whitfield is also known as an engineer and producer, with studio work for The Cure and The Mission among his credits.
The band’s recorded run begins with “Auslane” in 2013, followed by the self-titled “Klammer” in 2016 and “You Have Been Processed” in 2018. The singles “Everything Depends Upon The King” in 2016, “Modern God” in 2018 and “Spiral Girl” in 2018 sit between the albums.
Klammer has also worked outside its own catalogue, contributing to a Siouxsie And The Banshees tribute in 2016 and to the Pete Shelley tribute compilation “Yesterday’s Not Here No More” in 2020. Side-Line covered their reading of The Human League’s ‘Being Boiled’ in 2019. “The Day Before Yesterday” is their first full-length in four years.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
