Who are Clown Core? Long story short – no idea and no one really knows. There’s a lot of speculation online regarding the fact that the duo may actually be drummer Louis Cole and saxophonist Sam Gendel. Although, both have denied being part of the band. As Clown Core continue to skillfully keep their identities a mystery, we can only continue to speculate.
I can however tell you what Clown Core are. As some of you may already know, they’ve been making the rounds on YouTube since the late 00s and early 10s, but have somehow become viral some three years ago. “Hell” is the song that first put them on the map and our collective radar. If you don’t know what it’s all about, you have to check it out. It’s something that needs to be seen to be believed. The duo’s absolutely irreverent, absurdist, and highly satirical attitude, coupled with their mesmerizing technical prowess ultimately made sure that they went viral.
I mean, it’s hard not to go crazy over what they do. They have the chops of world class musicians, or unknown prodigies – depending on context and how you look at it – and they make use of them in what is quite simply the most unexpected manner. It’s surely hard to take them seriously, although it’s doubtful they do themselves, but it’s just as hard to not be impressed.
Their second album, Van, like their debut, Toilet, has its title capitalizing on where they play in their music videos. Again, you’ll have to see it to actually believe it. They just straight up play in a van and man do they play.
I wasn’t exaggerating when I said prodigy or world class musician – both of them rip on their instruments like few do. Both the saxophonist and the drummer also take turns playing on keys, just in case you thought the music and their level of prowess weren’t hitting it home.
So, Van is fairly short, adhering to something of a grindcore aesthetic and delivery similar to the debut. Spanning just seventeen minutes – across twelve tracks, that becomes rather obvious. The songs manage to traverse a lot of stylistic territory in spite of their lengths too. The record is a grab bag of noise, jazz fusion, electronic music, grindcore, downtempo, ambient, and what have you. There are a lot of things going on and I just tried to outline the most obvious ones so you can get the gist of it.
They are obviously blended in the most eclectic manner, due in no small part to the gimmick employed and the aesthetics as well. By all means though, the spastic delivery and the highly chopped delivery that jumps wildly between styles is part of the magic and it keeps things very engaging.
If you want a very matter-of-factly breakdown of tunes - they could be classified as unusually soothing, wall-of-sound, and delightfully colorful virtuosity. It’s sort of like listening to the most punishing moments from a metal record, the most hardcore stuff from an electro mix, and the tastiest licks from a jazz album.
Due to the very tongue-in-cheek nature of the album and of course, the band, I’m cutting some slack in terms of criticism since no one in their right mind would take this seriously. Anyway, all things considered, we’re looking at a fun record and a crazy good band, which I hope will one day make a serious album which is going to blow the roof off of the Earth.
