Milwaukee has a thing for emo. Back in the ’90s, groups like The Promise Ring and Hey Mercedes put the city on the emo map; these days, Telethon, Versio Curs, Live Tetherball Tonight, and many more carry the big-guitars-and-impassioned-vocals torch. Add Clementine to that latter group. For the past few years, the Milwaukee four-piece (not to be confused with another Milwaukee band called Clementine, which was active in the mid-’00s) has been playing out on the strength of its excellent 2017 emo/pop-punk EP This Will Hurt. But a new single, “Lucinda,” may be the band’s best work yet.
It’s all here: soaring and melodic vocals from singer-guitarist Joseph Altamore, a breakneck pace from new drummer Oliver Wink and bassist Mackenzie Sima, and a no-fuss-no-muss guitar solo from Bennett Gillies. The song is hooky and crunchy as hell. It’s far more distorted and urgent than the (relatively) clean songs on This Will Hurt, and it’s a nice preview of things to come. (Back-to-back EPs and a full-length are planned for the future.) It’s simply great. Listen to “Lucinda” now.
Also, who on earth told these dudes that “under no circumstances should you ever release music again”?
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