Track Listing

1. No Kind Of Life
2. Neon
3. Good Clean Fun
4. Finally Free
5. You Can�t Have Me
6. Amber
7. I Hate It That I Got What I Wanted
8. Here To Learn
9. Far Away
10. Dreamt That You Died
11. Widescreen
12. Its Getting Light Outside

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46635 in Music
• Released on: 2006-01-23
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
The mention of Clearlake might prompt memories of a time before Franz Ferdinand turned the world superfantastiche, but on their third album, Amber, these Sussex indie stalwarts are keen to prove they’re anything but yesterday’s men. "No Kind Of Life" lights the touchpaper, a rush of heart-pounding melancholy embellished with sparking, flinty guitars, vocalist Jason Pegg intoning "You rely on someone else to make you feel alright/As far as I’m concerned that’s no kind of life" with an urgency and determination that belies Clearlake’s fey reputation. But perhaps the most intriguing thing about Amber is just how hard it is to discern the influences that comprise the precise, artisan-crafted songs that lay within. The hooky "Finally Free" is a curious synthesis of Blur’s tuneful angularity and trippy, parallel-dimension Merseybeat, while the hushed title track sees Pegg’s heartbroken vocal accompanied only by a sombre swoop of cello and the quiet chimes of a music box. Perhaps it’s easiest to forget all reference points and just immerse yourself in Clearlake’s spirit of outsider Englishness: take 'Neon', a passionate disavowal of corporate nightlife and high-street consumerism born along gutter-dredging rock riff and the squawk of blues harmonica.--Louis Pattison

CD Description
Third album from novel Brighton indie rockers follows 2003's 'Cedars'. Celebrating the eccentricities of Englishness through an eclectic fusion of influences ranging from Krautrock to Motown to new wave, their lush, psychedelic, shoegazingpop has won them fans both here and across the pond. 'Amber' continues to mine a rich seam of melancholy whilst adding some sweet, upbeat numbers into the mix and includes the single 'Good Clean Fun'.

Customer Reviews

Clearlake make the money album on the third attempt!
'Amber' is Clearlake's third album, produced over a few years and in several studios. Its predecessors, the twee 'Lido' followed by the sombre, dark 'Cedars' have laid the groundwork for a perfect offering.

'Amber' commences with merciless drums and guitars in "No Kind of Life", setting the agenda of an album which will not hold back - "Neon" is a stomping track which will get even the most stolid music snob nodding along to the beat. The title track, "Amber", features the best cello score since the work of Nick Drake. The album goes from angry frustration ["I Hate it That I Got What I Wanted"] to despair ["Dreamt That You Died"], but manages to tread a line which makes the album well structured and less overbearing than the respective tweeness and darkness of Clearlake's earlier works.

Once again, Domino recording co. has allowed a superb band to develop freely and create a work of sublime musical talent. It would be a crime for 'Amber' to be outside the top 10 of albums released this year, regardless of the big-name releases in the upcoming 12 months. This is one album you will repeatedly come back to, and will satiate hardened Clearlake residents and newcomers alike.

Amber Gambler
Got both Arctic Monkeys and Clearlakes new offering this morning. Perhaps Im getting old, but Clearlakes new album shows what a mature band they really have become; Compared with Arctic Monkeys, which is good (if not predictable) this is just brilliant. With new harder edged guitars and Mr Peggs usual brilliance this album shines! 'Neon' is just genius as is 'Widescreen'. For anyone who has sat up at a party for longer than they should with someone they shouldn't, the last track of the album (It's getting light outside) will ring a few bells!

Amber: third time lucky?
It's been a long wait for this album as its predecessor, Cedars, was released in 2003 and Amber has therefore been a long time in the making. However, hopefully it will be the breakthrough album for Clearlake as they are an excellent and original band worthy of greater attention. Standout tracks for me are "No kind of life", "You can't have me", "I hate it that I got what I wanted" (great title and sentiments!) and "Widescreen". For anyone who hasn't heard them before, I suppose I would describe Clearlake's music as a mixture of the introspective (words)and both thrashy and tuneful but with quiet bits (music). This album is noticeably rockier than the previous two, Cedars and Lido, but that's not a bad thing at all. They really do deserve greater recognition, and I commend Amber to everyone!