ALBUM REVIEW: The Henry Clay People - Somewhere On the Golden Coast

It's impossible for me to be objective in regards to The Henry Clay People. They're my friends. They're emblematic of what a great local music scene means to me. I've seen them play great shows, great drunk shows, terrible drunk shows, and all other manner of shows. I've slept on hardwood floors with them. I can't "review" their new record, Somewhere On The Golden Coast, out today on TBD Records. I can only offer my thoughts.

The Henry Clay People - Somewhere on the Golden Coast

Without talking too much inside baseball, I know that the song selection and track listing for Somewhere On The Golden Coast was a protracted process for everyone involved in making the record.

Somewhere out in the ether (somewhere on the golden coast?) there is a version of this album that would be more directly catered towards me. It would have included "Switch Kids," "The Good Ones," "Taste of the Tasteless," "Randy Where's the Rest of Me?" and a version of "Digital Kid" closer to what the band was playing in early 2009. It would have been a slobberknocker of a rock record.

The record that is Somewhere on the Golden Coast has a different tact. It's a Slow Burn (like the same-named track on the album); less hyper-active, less eager to please, and less inclined to flaunt its influences than any HCP release to date. If For Cheap or For Free was a published Indie Rocker's Manifesto then Somewhere On the Golden Coast might be that same indie rocker's private diary: entries written at the bottom of the eighth pint of beer, a more intimate and introspective -- if more abstract -- assemblage of somewhat melancholy thoughts and musical ideas.

(I'm not a huge fan of the HCP's glam rock-influenced direction, and for those like me, there were a number of terrific live sets recorded for various websites last year that well-document the band's post-For Cheap or For Free, pre-glitter guitar period.)

It's only fair to mention that longtime fans are only granted 26 minutes of new songs, with "This Ain't a Scene" and "Working Part Time" getting fresh takes.

That's the only serious downside.

And for those who have not yet heard The Henry Clay People (that is to say "the vast majority of music consumers"), Somewhere on the Golden Coast is an impressive, comprehensive introduction to The HCP and all their colors, from the glammy-epic "Saturday Night" to furious rocker "End of an Empire" to "Nobody Taught Us To Quit," a stripped-down indie morsel in the vein of a hundred seemingly incomplete Guided by Voices tracks.

"End of An Empire" is a stand-out, but "Your Famous Friends" might be the best recorded track The Henry Clay People have ever released. (Admittedly, one of the glammier tunes.)

Good artists perfect a dish and serve it to their fans over and over again, only mildly tweaked. Great artists have the guts to know you can't give the fans what they think they want, you have to give them something better; you have to turn expectations on their heads every time. That means taking creative risks.

On this album, The Henry Clay People have bravely charged themselves with the greater task. They often -- but don't always -- succeed. The effort is admirable and worthy of The Henry Clay People's reputation as "a band for the good guys," rock music for The People Who Get It.

Somewhere on the Golden Coast is a rewarding listen and I give it a strong recommendation. It's the kind of music worth paying for and will surely make many end of the year lists, probably mine. You can buy it tonight at Spaceland when The Henry Clay People celebrate the release of the album. (Expect a couple new covers, too!)

BUY THE ALBUM FROM THE HCP HOMEPAGE (Cheaper than iTunes!)