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Apr 09, 2021 Web Exclusive By Dom Gourlay

Every once in a while, a piece of music comes along and smacks you in the face. Full on, no holds barred, and totally unexpected. At this point, it’s probably a good time to introduce CLAMM, a trio from the Australian city of Melbourne. Raging in angst and disillusionment while spreading their message in an ostentatiously loud fashion, CLAMM don’t mince their words nor waste any more than are deemed necessary.

So, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that Beseech Me doesn’t outstay its welcome. Clocking in at just under half an hour in total, CLAMM’s debut long player is anything but that; long. Instead, the three-piece—Jack Summers, Maisie Everett, and Miles Harding—deliver 10 short, sharp shocks that pack several punches while leaving no stones unturned along the way.

Although barely out of their teens, Summers and Harding are seasoned veterans of the Melbourne punk scene having played in a variety of bands before recruiting Everett on bass in 2019. Since then, CLAMM have established themselves as one of the most brutal outfits on the circuit courtesy of their incendiary racket that references Motörhead and GBH as much as it does IDLES or Amyl & The Sniffers.

Signed to the same label that introduced Crack Cloud to the world (Meat Machine), CLAMM infuse their raucous sound with diatribes about mental health, oppression, social injustice, and the general inactivity of boredom. Whether it be the way opener “Liar” questions the awkward perceptions of mental health awareness within society or the two-minute thrash of “Dog” which lets rip at anything and everything, Beseech Me isn’t an album for the faint of heart, which is just as well because CLAMM would probably rip it out and eat the remnants in front of said victim.

Undoubtedly even better witnessed in the flesh, one can but dream until live shows are finally given the all clear but for now, Beseech Me is an instantaneously addictive and unashamedly savage introduction to the dissonant world of CLAMM. (www.clammxo.bandcamp.com)

Author rating: 8/10