Lazarus Clamp

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Lazarus Clamp
Background information
Origin	Leicester, England
Genre(s)	Punk
Years active	1994 – present
Label(s)	Midlands Labels

Lazarus Clamp^[1] are an English band of some longevity and interest, who can make a reasonable claim to being one of the minor, undiscovered, roughcut gems of British independent music - but who probably have only themselves to blame for their low profile ^[2]. Formed in Leicester in 1994, the band's early intensity (angular, noisy, post-hardcore influences were the most evident at this point) and musical ambition (often undermined by a semi-notorious degree of equipment failure and breakdown), earned them a combination of admiration, sympathy, and disdain on the Midlands scene. An easy-going DIY ethic has made them popular with soundmen, fanzines and fellow musicians, but largely invisible to promoters, labels and the press.

Midlands labels - Bearos ^[3] and Sorted ^[4] - provided early support, though the band's most fruitful relationship seems to have been with the now-defunct Guildford label, ^[5] Words and Works Rejected. A number of fellow travellers and collaborators (Bob Tilton, John Sims, Los Planetos Del Agua, MJ Hibbett, Last Harbour, Half Seas Over, Twinkie, The Freed Unit) have been familiar entries on the band's infrequent live itineries.

As the band developed (and relaxed a little), and the line-up changed and then settled, Lazarus Clamp began to allow other influences to show through - English folk music, American country, and some rather deadpan humour - and became all the better for it. By the time their debut single emerged (Sea Sore Songs ^[6]) in the late 1990s, it was already a historical artefact, both in terms of the band's sound and the post-rock scene that had supported it. Subsequent singles (North ^[7], Left-handed ^[8], Some Rivals ^[9]) and the band's first two LPs (Such as you are and still not seeming to mind ^[10]. "The more we are the funnier it is" provides a better snapshot of Lazarus Clamp's literate, spontaneous, scruffy, and very English, take on their ragbag of influences ^[11]. These releases are a beguiling, and sometimes frustrating, combination of precisely-executed, off-beat 'alt-pop/unrock,'peppered with lo-fi home recordings, and off-the-cuff improvised meanderings. The band's willingness to fall on their faces, and their musical and verbal articulacy when they pull things together, are probably their greatest virtues.

Never prolific in their live outings, Lazarus Clamp are still active and recording, but have been dispersed across the UK, and, as a result, their live appearances have become even more rare. Gig-goers have been more likely to spot them in one of their solo [www.myspace.com/elclamp] outings or side-projects (moonlighting in Last Harbour, MJHibbett and the Validators, Mines) in the last few years. There has been evidence of a return to form with two small, but rapturously-received ^[12] appearances in Birmingham ^[13] and London in 2006 ^[14], and the band's website promises new recordings for release in the near future.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ http://www.lazarusclamp.co.uk
2. ^ http://www.robotsandelectronicbrains.co.uk/interviews/postcard/lazarus.html
3. ^ http://www.bearos.co.uk/
4. ^ http://www.jobhosle.f2s.com/sorted/index.htm
5. ^ http://www.forcedexposure.com/labels/words.and.works.rejected.uk.html
6. ^ http://www.robotsandelectronicbrains.co.uk/reviews/archive/july99.html
7. ^ http://www.normanrecords.com/whiskey/index.php?release=celinewhiskey
8. ^ http://www.splendidezine.com/departments/ten/27-mar-00.html
9. ^ http://www.blissaquamarine.net/singlereviews24b.html
10. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A1002583
11. ^ http://www.popnews.com/popnews/lazarusclamp/
12. ^ http://www.drownedinsound.com/event/view/17479?type=user
13. ^ http://www.myspace.com/lazarusclamp
14. ^ http://www.windmillbrixton.co.uk/Months/2006JulyA.html