Chemical Clock
Plastic Reality
Self-released
“Ode to a Great Band”
Plastic Reality is Chemical Clock’s final album. Let us all mourn the end of this visionary band. Their music will live on. It is a gift.
Synth wizard Cameron Sharif’s compositions are held in a weird and deeply intuitive special universe. None of us (the listeners) have ever been to the universe from which this music comes; only the band has been there. Each song is a musical story spun from that universe. We get the pleasure of experiencing the stories unfold in twists and turns as unfamiliar as they are fascinating.
Sharif, Evan Woodle (drums), Mark Hunter (bass), and Ray Larsen (trumpet) met while at the University of Washington Jazz program, where they became the heartbeat of the creative music scene coming out of the UW at the time. Like many of their compatriots, Chemical Clock floated between DIY, jazz, and experimental scenes in Seattle, playing both lo-fi house shows and rock clubs. They have three previous albums, all of which are superb (including their trippy, blown-out Christmas album that sounds like it was recorded on someone’s phone in the basement of UW). Many have drawn comparisons between listening to their music and taking psychedelics, which may be true—but this most recent album has a certain lucid quality.
On Plastic Reality, threads of house music run throughout, while the layering of sounds from different musical spheres is constant. Each band member plays at least two roles: the first, playing the composition (no small feat when it comes to Sharif’s pieces); the second, drawing from their individual musical worlds to add to the collective. The effect is a group sound that is constantly being stretched and pulled in a malleable and elegant dance. Sometimes these sounds are tugged almost to the brink of combustion, as in the track “Prehistoric Treatment.” Other times the group drives forward together, steadfast in their collective direction, as in my personal favorite track, “Donut Cat.” This musical interplay is a mystifying pleasure to behold. In short, buy this album.
And a final toast to Chemical Clock: a sincere thank you for the enduring stories from your universe. May you return there and live out your days in peace and prosperity. We will be listening for years to come.
–Levi Gillis