1. 12/2/16 Corey Balsom – The A-Side
"Derrrrrr derrrr derrrr derrrr derrrr!”The Clause frontmanConnorSmith isthrashinganair guitar,
posingforpicturesbya brickwall in BirminghamCityCentre sportingahoodie,skinnyjeansanda
sculptural cascade of curly hair.“Indie rockforever!”the 18-year-oldshouts. He’stakingthe piss.For
Smithand hisbandmates,indierockispassé.“It’sjustdone,”he sayslater.“Rock’n’roll isvery
cyclical,Iknowthat, but we’re sofarpast it now.Andbeingperceivedasretrogressive ismybiggest
fear.”
The Clause have a philosophy fortheirmusiccareer:create asyouconsume.It’sabouthow we all
listentoa multitude of differentthingsandhow theywanttobe the bandthat tickseverysingle one
of yourboxes.“Iwant to be representative of thisgeneration,”saysSmith.“The non-linear
consumptionof musiceverybodypicksfromall overthe place…Ijustwant to be trulymodern.”
Tenminutesafterstrikingtheirbestindie rockposesinthe shadow of the zig-zaggingfire escape,
the four are beingsnappedwalkingdownacobbledbackstreet.“I’mBobDylan!Dylanandhisthree
mates!”shoutsSmith.He’sstill takingthe piss.
Smithand hisbandmates –reservedguitaristLewisTurner,gregariousdrummerPatrickRichards
and wittybassistSamThompson – are verygoodat takingthe piss,because youcanneverreallytell
if they’re beingseriousornot.Theyrecentlytrickedtheir fanbase intothinkingthey’dsplit after
circulatingan image containingacomic strip,a typedstatementandanimage of two people reading
a front-page headline:“Isthisthe endforThe Clause?” Itwas justa jape.A single soonfollowed,
‘Love Me’,whichpokesfunat the group’sownrock star pretensions,the generation’sobsession
withsocial media(Sam wieldsagiantselfie stick) andtheircontemporaries(Lewis licksacardboard
cut-outof Harry Stylesinthe video). It’salsofunkyashell,toboot.
Havingfirstgrouped togetherasteenagersinSolihull,theyspentyearsasoutsidersonthe West
Midlandsmusicscene,ignoredbyBirmingham labelsandlocal musicloversalike.Samwas15,
workingat a supermarket andlivingwith hismumwhentheirmanagerJamie decidedto putout
theirmusichimself. Releasingtheirdebutalbum“BurningwithaPassion”inSeptember2015, The
Clause hitthe road hard the followingyear,playing195 showsin29 countries,travellingfarenough
to circle the worldsix timesover.
“I justwant to be the band of thistime,”saysSam. “The one.The fourboysin a bandwho play
instruments.That’sthe thingIwastakingthe pissout of withthe airguitar thing.We do have those
cleanlines –the fourboys,twoguitars,bass,drums,leatherjackets – butit’sjustdetail.”
Withthisin mind, theirnextmove isthatbrilliantbutbonkerssecondalbum.“I’m challenging
people tositthroughan hour and15 minutesand17 songsthat all soundcompletelydifferentfrom
each other,”admitsSam.“It’squite an emotional investment.It’sart.It’swhatI want to do.”
He pauses.“The world…No,I’mnot sayingthat.”
Notsayingwhat?
“I was aboutto say the worldneedsthisalbum.F**kit,you can go forthat. The worldneedsthis
album.”
