...sound like a Morrissey album in slow motion.

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Your New Boundaries
by Lacey Tauber
12.9.2001

Your New Boundaries, the debut release from Cambridge group Clairvoyants, opens with a drowsy drumbeat, sparse guitar, and the line “that city f***ed you up…” and through fourteen tracks never picks up the pace or the mood. However, the album never becomes too blasé. It is in fact strikingly morose and pretty, a somber and personal journey of sadness.

"...like a Morrissey album in slow motion."
As part of a burgeoning scene of downbeat Indie Pop in the Boston area, Your New Boundaries was produced by Colin Rhinesmith of Boston’s Skating Club, along with Clairvoyants’ singer/songwriter Brian Dunn at Skating Club’s Boston studio, the Longhouse. Dunn also appears on Skating Club’s self-titled debut, and the two bands share a label, Wishing Tree.

The two bands’ styles are quite similar, with sparse instrumentation usually focusing on one instrument at a time. However, Clairvoyants are driven primarily by the guitar/bass/drums combo, rarely using other instruments. When they do, however, they spice up the sound nicely. For example, “The Hungry Ghosts,” with upright bass, bongos, and horn, is just about the most downbeat samba track you’ll ever hear. In addition, Dunn brings a very distinct vocal style to Clairvoyants. If the songs were faster, Dunn would sound flamboyant and contrived. However as it is, Dunn’s sad yet lofty vocals sound like a Morrissey album in slow motion. Our featured track, “To Harm,” is the hardest-hitting of the album, the most straightforward musically and vocally (and if you listen to it you’ll realize what that says about the sparseness and slowness of the rest of the album).

So if you’re expecting typical Indie Pop fodder, like hooks and driving beats, be forewarned you won’t find that here. However, if you’re looking for an album of sparse and haunting tales, Clairvoyants just might fit the bill.




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