Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, public mask-wearing was pretty rare.

Not for Clinic, though.

They proudly wore their surgical masks. Fully committing to their aesthetic and proving they were way ahead of the rest of us, in many ways!

(Fun fact: they also used to queue outside their local supermarket for half an hour too!*)

They were from Crosby, Liverpool, and never quite got the mainstream recognition other bands got. Which was a shame.

But again, for me proving some great stuff was released around that awkward late 90s early 2000s time.

The two tracks I’ve included in the archive are "The Second Line" and "The Return of Evil Bill" from their 2000 debut album, "Internal Wrangler".

"The Second Line" was famously featured in a Levi's jeans commercial back in the era of Mr. Oizo and his head-banging puppet Flat Eric, when those ads were practically charting singles on their own. The song has a chilled urgency(?), with vocalisations that I still don't get over a quarter-century later. I don't know exactly what Ade Blackburn is singing, and I still don't care!

The Second Line by Clinic

"The Return of Evil Bill" stands out with its wheezing, distorted harmonica riffs and stop-start guitar.

The Return of Evil Bill by Clinic

I was lucky enough to catch them within spitting distance of a volcano as well. (Lava spit not saliva spit). Which was nice. **

Great band, twice in, and I have to hold myself back from adding random album tracks too!

* Not a fact ** A fact