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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Claire de Lune: A soccer mom’s worst nightmare
Wednesday 16 June @ 12:47:42 |
 by Ian Anderson
Meeting with local rock group Clair de Lune (CDL) was like picking up a group of eighth graders after soccer practice.
"We're just a good group of friends that like to goof around," explains guitarist Tom Caughlan. "Friends that get a little over the top sometimes." Over the top may be a dramatic understatement when considering the members of CDL have participated in intra band puke fights—on tour last year with Icalide the group participated in an open road showdown, throwing food, feces and eventually vomit at one another while speeding to the next tour stop. Clearly it takes a band with deep levels of friendship (and nearly unfathomable inebriation capabilities) to participate in those kinds of antics.
In person and off-stage, the members of Claire de Lune are goofy, silly and full of shit (vomit, etc.)—the direct opposite of the dark and deeply felt music they display throughout their full-length debut, Marionettes (Deep Elm Records).
The record starts with the near anthemic "Sailor Beware," a track that leans heavily on one of Claire de Lune's strengths—the symbiotic intertwined guitar parts of Justin Burckhard and Caughlan. Complemented by the equally interwoven vocals of Burckhard and keyboardist Adam Roddy (which are set back in the mix and act more as another instrumental texture than the central melody), all four sounds are constantly playing off one another and vying equally for the listener's attention. It's a driving and complex sound, reminiscent of some of the best harder-edged bands unfortunately plagued with the emo tag (At the Drive In, Cursive).
Roddy and Burckhard constantly harmonize throughout Marionettes, frequently finishing each other's lines and making it difficult to tell the two apart. "Neither one of us really think of ourselves as a singer," explains Roddy. "We've never really sung in a band before, so this is all a learning process. It was cool that we could actually hear our vocals, like 'Oh, that does sound cool, do it again.'"
This communal writing, which frequently occurred with only portions of the band present at any one time due to conflicting work schedules, provided each member the opportunity to explore their parts extensively. This may be the reason for the layered nature of the record's bass and piano lines, or drummer Ben Johnston's complex parts—which are at times intricate enough to give Marionettes an almost math-rock feel.
"We all wrote the music together, so there's a lot of shit going on at once, which often makes it difficult to decipher," says Burckhard. "We try to figure out how to make your guts move in a certain way."
Fortunately for the boys of CDL, the complex and hard-hitting tunes of Marionettes will be showcased beyond the Twin Cities area. The group signed with emo-rock label heavy hitter Deep Elm Records (formerly home to such Midwest indie luminaries as the Appleseed Cast and the label that's put out the long running Emo Diaries compilation series).
After a quick courting period in which the North Carolina-based label "pushed my awesome button," according to Caughlan, the band signed with Deep Elm last November. So far, the band has shown no signs of "we got signed," big-headedness. Perhaps it's Claire de Lune's humble beginnings that have helped them keep their current run of success in proper perspective. The idea of starting the band began when founding member Burckhard was bailed out of a five-day DWI jail stint in Aberdeen, ND, by close buddy and future bass player Jon Herr. Burckhard had a handful of songs in the works and they both came to Minneapolis.
After a series of band member auditions that consisted of meetings at bars and parties, and "Hey, you wanna jam?" conversations, the band eventually reached its current five-piece incarnation. The last (and undoubtedly key addition) to the lineup was Roddy, whose distinctive piano automatically makes Claire de Lune stand out from the emo brat pack. A music tech student (alongside drummer Ben Johnston) studying audio engineering, Roddy met Johnston in their creative writing class where their love for music sparked a friendship.
With a full lineup in place the band began gigging around the Twin Cities and, before too long, released a six-song EP on the local Blue Worm Records imprint. The band is still quick to thank Blue Worm honcho Brett Johnson for his continued support, even in their decision to leave Blue Worm for the significantly larger Deep Elm label.
"Everything [that's happened in the band's career so far] has been a stroke of luck," admits Burckhard, "I just wanted to be in a band that I would listen to." Burckhard looks across the table at Roddy who quickly responds affecting a burnt-out-hippie-esque voice, "Oh man, that is so, like, deep."
"We get on stage just to have a good time, we don't want to be too serious," claims Caughlan. "But, we still want to create an experience other than just our album being played—we just want to avoid being like Jet and playing on car commercials."
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