When it comes to finding a description for CLUTCH, some rock critics throw the words "Jam band" around. But the concept of jamming suggests improvisation, which is near impossible to capture on a recorded audio product. The paying punters typically attend shows to hear songs they know. Sure, it's a different set of rules with free-form jazz but that's for other websites to handle. Admittedly there is a similar spirit in Neil Fallon's free-flowing lyrics and on "Strange Cousins from the West" the band feed off each other in a smoke-filled liquor-soaked telepathic connection to deliver the goods so the "Jam band" category isn't ill-fitting.

The organ lines so prevalent on the last record are mysteriously absent this time, but it hardly matters. "Strange Cousins from the West" is one tight platter filled with Fallon's smooth clear vocals over impeccable riffing and drumming. From the onset, you're grabbed by the short and curlies by the bluesy southern swamp rock of "Motherless Child". Funk peppered with heaviness on "Struck Down" and "Freakanomics" absolutely hits the ball out of the park. Fallon's vocals in "50,000 Unstoppable Watts" show a melodic edge recalling KINGS X's Doug Pinnick. The song really comes up a winner due to the magical combination of ballsiness and catchiness that comfortably drills itself into your head and stays for eons, and one can sense slow, flickering flames that emit a sweet odor for the duration of "Abraham Lincoln" through the smoke of its heavy SABBATH groove.

Whilst listening to this disc I kept wanting to smash a Rubik's cube to smithereens with a sledgehammer as the opposite sides refuse to match up. Saving the multi-colored puzzle from demolition is a laid back sense of ease as CLUTCH execute their funked up blues-rock. The calming effects will cause rigorously trained medical professionals to prescribe this disc as a cure for agitation.

- Carr

OFFICIAL SITE: www.pro-rock.com

RELATED ITEMS: CLUTCH - "From Beale Street To Oblivion", 2007