THE DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY • OUT NOW
ALBUM REVIEW: The Day Before Yesterday – Klammer by Katie Bird
Post-punk quartet KLAMMER were formed by producer Steve Whitfield in 2014. Since then, they’ve built up a fanbase with three albums released to widespread acclaim, and appearances at the likes of Rebellion Festival, The Great British Alternative Festival and Whitby Goth Weekend. Now, they’re back with their brand new album entitled The Day Before Yesterday. Boasting 13 tracks, it sees them take heavy inspiration from punk, as well as pretty much anything dark, loud and melodic.
Pass The Test opens the album with a mid-tempo rock song that has a thumping drum beat throughout. Unfortunately, the song isn’t all that exciting – just another run-of-the-mill rock song. Of course, not every opening song has to blow people’s minds; some can be average. However, there has to be something that makes the audience want to listen more. Thankfully, I Really Really Want To Believe rectifies this issue. Something about it feels more polished and sharper. The tempo is the same as before, which makes the pacing of the album consistent. However, this song is a vast improvement compared to its predecessor.
The next song is the lead single from the album: Progress (Or The Lack Of). It is a groovy rock song that captures the listener’s attention immediately. The pacing of the song is middle-of-the-road, just like the other songs. However, this does not affect the pacing of the album, mainly because of the consistently strong production.
Broken Dreams In A Crashing Car mixes things up a bit. It starts off with a 37-second instrumental introduction, and the pacing is a little faster than the previous songs. However, this does not change the overall pacing of the album that much. There’s also a guitar solo towards the end the song, therefore creating an interesting experience. The experimenting continues on While You Sleep, The Blind Leading The Blind, and especially on The Insider. The latter is a frantic and fast-paced song, and the most experimental on the album so far. Again though, this doesn’t throw off the overall pacing of the record.
The good thing about The Day Before Yesterday is that the listener can see the band grow in confidence as the album goes on. It is an interesting approach to an album, but KLAMMER embrace it well. This is emphasised on A New Direction and Oblivion. The songs are like chalk and cheese, and summarise KLAMMER very well. The former is a groovy pop-rock song, whereas the latter is a moodier, grungier song. This also shows that the band can embrace different genres like an old friend.
Ultimately, despite a slow start to the album, KLAMMER do find their sound on The Day Before Yesterday, which is everything. They happily cross genres, and do not shove themselves into a single box. Instead, the band push forward with experimentation. The pacing of the album flows really well, despite some songs being slower than others, and overall The Day Before Yesterday is a great piece of work by this post-punk four-piece.
