The Deans, among others, have shown there’s a renewed appetite around these parts for hard-driving virtuoso guitar rock. Cleere, lead by versatile guitarist and songwriter Joe Cleere from Carlow, are treading a somewhat similar path, although the latter’s lyrical preoccupations tend to be socio-political issues rather than babies who have done gone upped and left. His voice has a smokey, throaty quality that will appeal to fans of mainstream American metal-rock acts, but probably won’t open doors to middle Ireland. The single ‘Queue’ is a good example of where they’re at: a funkified, guitar-fuelled workout it reflects on life as one queue after another for us ordinary folks, while the planet’s wealth drains away. Opener ‘Road To Nowhere’ is a stormer, all free-range guitars and thundering drums. There’s a beguiling subtlety to ‘The Ones We Left Behind’, ‘Sick Day (All A Joke)’ is superbly bolstered by the bold trumpeting of Ben Dooze, and Ciara Dowling’s violin adds a melodic depth to ‘No Raindrops’.
Cleere’s needs towork on his vocal technique to achieve more variety and a sense of surprise, although his incorporation of instruments not obviously part of this genre gives him an edge over more formula-bound rivals.
KEY TRACK: ‘QUEUE’