Clipd Beaks: To Realize

Label: Lovepump United

Clipd Beaks first caught my eye, to be honest, with their font — a prehistoric, angular scrawl that recalled (kind of exactly) that of the earliest, shadowiest Dead Can Dance records on 4AD. While this Bay Area trio doesn’t resemble that pioneering group in sound, it does produce more than its share of comparably idiosyncratic mystery and allure — and on To Realize, the band’s third effort, it brings together postmodern primitivism and a tense rock sensibility that seems always on the verge of eruption. New touchstones are coming to mind even while writing and listening to the album — specifically Coil, the way that post-Throbbing Gristle band layered strata of order and chaos in its music. On To Realize, specifically songs like “Dust” and “Broke Life,” Clipd Beaks surge forward on unique but steady percussion, all while guitars and bass roil beneath. Desperate but less than apocalyptic, their organic industrial rock is a challenging, wholly unique sound in today’s indie scene. (M.L. Thrope)