clara venus

This New York trio that took their name from a line in a Rimbaud poem (impressive) took four years to follow up their EP with the LP, but they haven’t forgotten what they were up to. The Replacements influence they admitted to back then is still there, but it is less pronounced on this unusually well produced self-released LP. Recorded in their basement, in a closing studio, and in a house outside Woodstock with no water, it is no wonder it took so long to finish! Co-producers Michael Tudor (Moby, John Cale) and Chris Feinstein make everything sound immediate and punchy, and aside from "Liar", the one faster rocker out of the Pleased to Meet Me playbook, Greatest Hurts is kind of like the dirtier tracks on the last two 'Mats LP's and the early Paul Westerberg LP's. But there are also spots of Rolling Stones ("Doesn't Work Right"), classic rock heavy riffing ("Rolling in the Wrong Direction"), Neil Young ("Dry Razor's Hand"), power pop ("Secret"), and oddball Flaming Lips or Wilco ("Bastard"). The band's heart, well encapsulated by the LP's title, will win you over too - especially on the Westerberg-ian acoustic ballad bawling of "DCIL" and the soulful standout closer, "You Were Right (Never Again)."--The Big Takeover .56