Lazarus Clamp - Against Entitlement
by Anthony Middleton
published: 12 / 12 / 2009

Label:
Little Red Rabbit Records
Format: LP
intro
Sprawling, but unmelodic fifth album from Leicester-based alt. rock outfit, Lazarus Clamp
A band that has been around for around for fifteen years, has released five well thought of albums and does not seem to have registered on more than a few people’s radars is obviously doing something right and something entirely wrong. Lazarus Clamp appeared to have given up on any once cherished dreams of filling arenas> Indeed they seem have given up on filling pub back rooms, so rarely do they perform live. I find this entirely laudable and refreshing from the ‘world owes us a living’ mentality of many bands. Lazarus Clamp obviously do this because they love it and it fulfills a need for them and their fans and that’s enough. For an album barely over half an hour long, 'Against Entitlement' feels like a sprawling epic, such are the number of gear changes on the record. From the Americana-like 'Hard Work of Simple Things' with its banjo and violin to the more Wedding Present-like pop of 'Spon'. Tying it all together are grown up lyrics that while obscure, are sung well layered in a multi textured sound that is always admirable if not always accessible. This is most apparent in the concluding 'I am the Police', a raging slow burner which while effective, is like too much of the album, lacking in anything approaching a melody.
Track Listing:-
1 Stone Beats This2 Etmyologist's Lament
3 Spon
4 Hard Work Of Simple Things
5 Been Black-eyed
6 Canon
7 Night Of The Steep Learning Curve
8 Puppies
9 I Am The Police
Label Links:-
http://www.littleredrabbit.co.uk/https://twitter.com/LittleR_dRabbit
https://www.facebook.com/LittleRedRabbit/
reviews |
The More We Are The Funnier It Is (2002) |
![]() |
Style-blending second album from British group that has "punch, edge and a sense of intrigue, but which also manages to be experimental without having to resort to anything more than quiet guitars and some violin." |
most viewed articles
current edition
Carl Ewens - David Bowie 1964 to 1982 On Track: Every Album, Every SongArmory Show - Interview with Richard Jobson
John McKay - Interview
Colin Blunstone - Thalia Hall, Chicago, 16/7/2025
Bathers - Photoscapes 1
Billie Eilish - O2 Arena, London, 10/7/2025
Loft - Interview
Visor Fest - Valencia, Spain, 26/9/2025...27/9/2025
Sir Tim Rice - Interview
Robert Forster - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Davey Woodward - Mumbo in the JumboSick Man of Europe - The Sick Man of Europe
Lucy Spraggan - Other Sides of the Moon
Amy Macdonald - Is This What You've Been Waiting For?
Phew, Erika Kobayashi,, Dieter Moebius - Radium Girls
Suzanne Vega - Flying With Angels
Bush - I Beat Loneliness
Alice Cooper - The Revenge of Alice Cooper
Blueboy - 2
Cynthia Erivo - I Forgive You
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart