Absolutely essential!

Do you still want to read on? You know I’m going to praise this CD ‘til it bleeds. Every last glowing adjective will be justified, if not required. Internal Wrangler demands broad statements of acclaim. It is superb, for one, because it makes you feel like the coolest person on Earth every time you listen to it. It’s a coming-out party on the level of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless.

How might one describe the sound? It's like existential, drugged-out spy-movie music, with twisted (sometimes to the point of gibberish) vocals. Imagine The Pixies playing with The Velvet Underground, as produced by Joe Meek. Mix Add N to (X) with The Beta Band and you are starting to get the idea, if you understand that both of those bands pale in comparison to Clinic; it's like comparing vomit to champagne.

The first sign of greatness is "The Return of Evil Bill", which is simply horrifically cool. Other than a couple of very brief interludes, which never outstay their welcome, each song makes a similarly brilliant statement. I’m not going to list every song; just know that they’re all worthy of "classic" status -- in a perfect world. There are distorted tracks that scream in your face, such as "2/4"; there are screwy, touching ballads, such as "Earth Angel". Somehow, it's all extremely accessible.

This is my favorite CD of the year, and I've listened to many, many excellent CDs. You’re probably not going to meet up with gaggles of Clinic fans, and maybe that’s for the best. It’s that whole idea where you get to have a favorite band that’s far outside the scope of the popular culture of your country (Clinic are from Liverpool, by the way). On a strange note, I’m pretty sure I read that "The Second Line" was used in a Levi’s (or some other jeans company) commercial in the UK. Very funny and perhaps subversive, I think.

Cool? Yes. Trailblazing? Yes. Absolutely damn essential? Don’t make me say it again.