It’s not as revelatory the second time around, but it plays to Clinic’s main strength-simply being Clinic, as no one else can.
Clinic sounds weird, but its music is pretty formulaic. It just happens to be an excellent formula: Concoct off-kilter, psychedelic surf rock; season with haunting melodica lines and Ade Blackburn’s enigmatic simper; repeat as necessary. The band established its palette on the convulsive Internal Wrangler and later retreated into inscrutable grays on Winchester Cathedral. From the shredded fuzz chords of “Family” and “Tusk” to the funky wah-wah guitars of “Animal/Human,” it’s apparent that Visitations is a return to Internal Wrangler‘s more straightforward form. It’s not as revelatory the second time around, but it plays to Clinic’s main strength-simply being Clinic, as no one else can.