Clot, by Wax Chattels

Clot

by Wax Chattels

supported by

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$10 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Baby Blue Vinyl Version of 'Clot'. Pressed in an edition of 400 copies.

Includes unlimited streaming of Clot via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

edition of 400 14 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

$21 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
CD Versions of Wax Chattels' 'Clot'.

Includes unlimited streaming of Clot via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

Purchasable with gift card

$12 USD or more

1.	Glue 04:26	buy track
2.	Efficiency 02:52	buy track
3.	Cede 01:51	buy track
4.	Mindfulness 03:27	buy track
5.	No Ties 02:09	buy track
6.	Less Is More 03:15	buy track
7.	Spanners & Implements 03:53	buy track
8.	An Eye 04:20	buy track
9.	Forever Marred 04:02	buy track
10.	Yokohama 02:47	buy track
11.	You Were Right 03:55	buy track

about

It is universally agreed that New Zealand’s Wax Chattels are a must-see live act; their hypnotically sinister debut captured this perfectly. Released in 2018 and supported by relentless touring, the eponymous album reached #7 on the Official New Zealand Album Charts, and release week saw the title feature as #1 in Rough Trade’s Top 20 New Releases. Tastemakers like NPR and A.V. Club came on as early champions. The album’s success at home and abroad led to the well-deserved nomination of Best Alternative Artist at the 2018 New Zealand Music Awards, as well as the band’s inclusion in the coveted shortlist of finalists for the Taite Music Prize and Auckland Live Best Independent Debut Award. After a knock-out entrée, the anticipation that surrounds their sophomore album, 'Clot', is immense.

Much like 'Wax Chattels', the writing process for 'Clot' took the best part of a year. While some songs were written on the road, the bulk of the album was workshopped throughout 2019 across bedrooms and storage containers. Demos were fine-tuned before taking them to the studio. Wax Chattels maintained the use of only the barest of ingredients — bass guitar, keyboard, and a two-piece drum kit — but the group spent more time experimenting with and finding new sounds. They wanted to maintain the same live element as in their debut, but, this time, heavier — for which they enlisted the help of mixing engineer, and fellow noise-maker, Ben Greenberg (Uniform, Destruction Unit, The Men). The keyboard sounds are noticeably thicker and the bass more intense. A marked step-up, this new record keeps the visceral energy of the debut, only this time they dig deeper into cathartic noise.

Clot’s inspiration — or, rather, frustration — came from the doomy, gloomy corners of Auckland’s underbelly, and the theme of confrontation is central. "Mindfulness" is about willingly tricking yourself into band-aid solutions; merely accepting the status quo rather than kicking up a fuss and forcing tangible change. The vitriolic choruses of "Cede" are in Cheng's native language — Taiwanese Hokkien — and are an indignant confrontation about Cross-Strait relations and self-determination. The experience of being a first generation immigrant and not having a personal relationship with extended family is expressed in the melodic single “No Ties”. The song touches on cultural differences and the parental sacrifice of careers and support systems to provide a “better” future for their children. The explosive arc of “Efficiency” describes knowing when to bide your time, and when to push, in which the band treads a line between the explicit and intuitive. “Less is More” fumes with the frustration caused by the selective memories of others. The violent fantasies in “Spanners & Implements” suggest a more literal interpretation of these themes. This is carried through “An Eye”, in which the band stresses the physical harm and psychological breakdown emanating from the escalating racial and political uproar throughout the world.

Still, though the band seethes and boils throughout, 'Clot' concludes with a message of hope. On the final track, “You Were Right”, Ruddell expresses an aspiration toward alternative viewpoints: wading through the noise and chatter, ultimately being able to accept the opinions of others, albeit after careful consideration. Perhaps it’s this capacity for self-awareness that makes Wax Chattels one of New Zealand’s most treasured independent exports.

credits

released September 25, 2020

license

about

Wax Chattels Auckland, New Zealand

guitarless guitar music.
waxchattels@gmail.com

contact / help

Contact Wax Chattels

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Wax Chattels, you may also like:

Hunger for a Way Out
by Sweeping Promises

supported by 49 fans who also own “Clot”

Once in awhile you stumble across a record that’s like a breathy, forbidden rendezvous in a random utility closet. Listening to Lira Mondal’s whines and whimpers over impossibly catchy guitar traces from Caufield Schnug (real name honest) is right up there with a cold breeze up your assless chaps and a second hit of Shatter for grandma. It tugs at the heartstrings, pulls at the bra straps, this duo the shoe-in panto dame for Fiery Furnaces or even Kleenex. Loopy. Sexy. Love at first feel. mmarchman
go to album
Coriky
by Coriky

supported by 38 fans who also own “Clot”

Mackaye is a hero nick
go to album
Tower of Age
by L I T H I C S

supported by 35 fans who also own “Clot”

The best in the biz, BABY! Ben Parrish
go to album
One-Sided LP
by Luxury

Georgia indie group Luxury returns with a one-sided LP full of fire and ferocity, toothy guitars beneath Britpop-style melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 11, 2020
go to album
Certified Ailments
by Holiday Music

Laid-back yet restless indie rock is heavy on the catchy melodies and unexpected musical choices that elevate the simplicity of the tunes. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 21, 2020
go to album
Trophies
by Luxury

The Atlanta indie band return with more fiery songs that pair the elegance of classic Britpop with slashing guitars. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 1, 2019
go to album
UNTITLED (Black Is)
by SAULT

supported by 35 fans who also own “Clot”

Stunning album. Compelling, melancholy beauty. RobertWMonk
go to album