A Clandestine Gem

Artist: Clandestine

Album: The Invalid

Label: Nightmare Records

Release Date: Feb. 15

Grade: A-

Sporting a name that can simultaneously describe its underhanded subversion of about a half-dozen musical genres and allude to its virtually nonexistent coverage in mainstream musical publications, Clandestine is a band that desperately needs to be heard.

Hailing from Los Angeles and fronted by versatile vocalist June Park, the band tackles everything from pop rock to alternative metal to progressive music in its debut full-length album, The Invalid.

If Clandestine's name can be taken as a comment of sorts about the band, then the title of the album's first track, "Fearless," can be taken as a mission statement. Just two minutes into the album, listeners are hit with a barrage of elements ranging from synthesizer texturing to a heavy and syncopated guitar riff to a surprisingly catchy chorus, all of which fits together seamlessly.

The next track, "Disappear in You," further demonstrates the band's versatility and wide range of influences, as a truly heavy opening complete with Park's best impression of a death metal growl segues into a guitar and vocal melody reminiscent of Dream Theater's heyday.

Such is the story for the rest of the album, which contains not a single dud among its 10 tracks. Virtually every track on The Invalid brings something interesting and different to the table, to the point that neglecting to talk about all of them just seems unfair.

"Philistine" sounds like a hybridization of Dream Theater and Between the Buried and Me, if either band could write songs under eight minutes long.

"Fracture" begins with a comparatively straightforward segment in 6/4 time before embodying its title, both rhythmically and stylistically.

"Dead to the World" gives teenage angst a level of dynamism and musicality it hasn't had since Porcupine Tree's Fear of a Blank Planet.

The list goes on, with this truly excellent debut impressing track after track. Let there be nothing clandestine about it – this is a great album.

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