Internal Wrangler

Internal Wrangler
Studio album by
Released1 May 2000 (2000-05-01)
Recorded1999–2000
GenreIndie rock, post-punk revival, garage rock
Length30:58
LabelDomino
Producer
Clinic chronology
Clinic
(1999)
Internal Wrangler
(2000)
Walking with Thee
(2002)
Singles from Internal Wrangler
  1. "The Return of Evil Bill"
    Released: 10 April 2000 (2000-04-10)
  2. "Distortions"
    Released: 10 July 2000 (2000-07-10)
  3. "The Second Line"
    Released: 9 October 2000 (2000-10-09)

Internal Wrangler is the debut studio album by British indie rock band Clinic. It was released on 1 May 2000 through Domino Records.

Background

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The band signed to Domino Records following the release of several self-financed singles. The song "The Return of Evil Bill" is a follow-up to the song "Evil Bill" that appeared on the Clinic compilation album, and remains a fan favorite in live shows. The band, particularly lead singer Ade Blackburn, are superstitious and chose not to include a song on the 13th track; instead a four-second silence is heard before the album's final song, "Goodnight Georgie". This is believed to be why the subsequent albums have been no more than 12 songs long until 2010's Bubblegum.

The short interlude track "DJ Shangri-La" is an excerpt of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight" Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor played on a highly overdriven organ, although here it is played in standard 4/4 time, while the original piano motif was in 3/4 time. The song "The Second Line" was used prominently in a Levi's Jeans television advertisement in late 2000, which then led to it being re-issued. It also features an interpolation of the song "Cavern" by Liquid Liquid.

The album cover was inspired by Ornette Coleman's 1961 album Ornette!

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[3]
Drowned in Sound8/10[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
The Guardian[6]
NME6/10[7]
Pitchfork9.3/10[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Spin9/10[10]

The Independent wrote that "this short, sweet and sour debut album packs more imaginative strategies into half an hour than most bands manage in entire careers."[11]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Clinic (Ade Blackburn, Brian Campbell, Jonathan Hartley and Carl Turney)

No.TitleLength
1."Voodoo Wop"1:41
2."The Return of Evil Bill"2:32
3."Internal Wrangler"3:03
4."DJ Shangri-La"0:52
5."The Second Line"2:28
6."C.Q."1:09
7."T.K."2:31
8."Earth Angel"3:20
9."Distortions"4:01
10."Hippy Death Suite"1:18
11."2nd Foot Stomp"2:52
12."2/4"2:33
13.Untitled (silence)0:04
14."Goodnight Georgie"2:34
Total length:30:58

Personnel

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Clinic

  • Ade Blackburn – keyboard, melodica, lead vocals
  • Brian Campbell – bass, flute, backing vocals
  • Jonathan Hartley – lead guitar, clarinet, keyboards
  • Carl Turney – drums, piano, backing vocals, additional percussion

Production

Charts

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Chart (2000) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 142
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[13] 25

References

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  1. ^ "Reviews for Internal Wrangler by Clinic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  2. ^ Phares, Heather. "Internal Wrangler – Clinic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Clinic: Internal Wrangler". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  4. ^ Ansell, Rachelle (2 May 2000). "Album Review: Clinic – Internal Wrangler LP". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Clinic". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  6. ^ Simpson, Dave (21 April 2000). "Clinic: Internal Wrangler (Domino)". The Guardian.
  7. ^ Segal, Victoria (1 May 2000). "Clinic – Internal Wrangler". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  8. ^ LeMay, Matt (2 May 2000). "Clinic: Internal Wrangler". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  9. ^ Randall, Mac (16 August 2001). "Clinic: Internal Wrangler". Rolling Stone. No. 875. Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  10. ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (October 2001). "Clinic: Internal Wrangler". Spin. Vol. 17, no. 10. pp. 130–31. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  11. ^ Gill, Andy (28 April 2000). "Clinic Internal Wrangler". Features. The Independent. p. 15.
  12. ^ "Chart Log UK: Chris C. – CZR". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
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