Clogs - The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton

Not only would it be unfair to call Clogs a National side project, it’d be inaccurate too, since they predate them and are arguably a larger influence on The National’s music than the other way around. The fifth album by Bryce Dessner and Padma Newsome (he behind their orchestral arrangements), is a wonderful, beautiful brew of neo-classical, chamber pop, Mediaeval folk and post-rock. It’s tempting to sit back and hurl adjectives at it, but few would do it justice. Sure, it’s lavish, but it’s tasteful too. Okay, it’s ornate and opulent, but it certainly isn’t alienating. Woven amongst the guest vocalists (Shara Morden of My Brightest Diamond appears on half the tracks, and Matt Berninger) are subtle touches of woodwind, brushes of percussion and lilting string plucks that continue to reveal themselves, spin after spin. Clogs have produced a veritable masterpiece, an album to immerse yourself and hope to get lost inside. [Finbarr Bermingham]