After a lifetime of waiting, CLAIR DE LUNE’s sophomore effort titled Assisted Living has finally seen the light of day via a digital release through Deep Elm. While there are a limited number of hardcopies available, Assisted Living is really the label’s first large-scale push in distributing an album solely by digital means. It makes sense, too. After releasing their stellar debut with the label in 2004, CLAIR DE LUNE toured a bit and promptly disappeared. Since then, they’ve obviously recorded another album but any signs of life from the band, then or now, are unapparent. That said, Assisted Living is still quite a pick-up from a band that will at least remain consistent in your chosen media player. With this twelve-track disc, CLAIR DE LUNE find themselves utilizing much of the same techniques that made Marionettes so great. The dueling, gruff vocals are ever-prevalent; the riffs are rough and angular; and those rain-drop keynotes are still there enhancing the atmosphere of the songs. They kick off the disc with “Killjoy,” a three-minute stomp that best represents the aforementioned characteristics. The urgency expressed in “Killjoy” and similar songs such as “Airplanes” and “I’m A People Person” is one of CLAIR DE LUNE’s better assets, yet the band’s restraint creates equally compelling songs. The title track is a rather beautiful piece that finds the quintet using an accompanying string section while the haunting vibe found in “XXX” makes for an epic tune. The band’s best melodic performance comes in the instrumental “Winning Over Grief And Sorrow.” CLAIR DE LUNE could have made an entire album of songs like this because the strings once again sound completely in-synch with the guitars – making for a song that doesn’t sound too far removed from THE VELVET TEEN’s “Forlorn” or anything from Elysium for that matter. However, it’s songs like the OPEN HAND-esque “Checkers” and the surprisingly catchy “Black Heart Charades” that make Assisted Living a lasting effort. Particularly in the latter, CLAIR DE LUNE tears the commonality of dueling vocals to shreds by creating an engaging, energetic chorus and ending that’s topped off with the line of the album: “Is your house a hooooooooome?” Lyrically, CLAIR DE LUNE is consistent in their social and personal approach. “Catapults” seems like a direct stab at corporate and upper-class greed with the final warning of “be not Roman” while “Killjoy” tackles a personal struggle with the line “daily life became a fight, that’s what we all share tonight/ night after night she drowns in suicidal sanctuary.” There’s not a clearer song than “I’m A People Person” in which the constant repetition of “you talk too much, you think out loud, would you please shut up” becomes one of the more memorable moments of the album. The song as a whole is also quite great because of its gradual energy build-up, both musically and vocally. Assisted Living is topped off with a much better production quality this time around as bits and pieces of CLAIR DE LUNE’s last album almost seemed too dull to notice. While the songs are scattered in terms of tempo and what they contain, as a unit they produce a tight collection. CLAIR DE LUNE probably isn’t the best option to buy stock in for the long run considering their history, but if you considered yourself a fan of Marionettes, I guarantee Assisted Living will be a sure-fire hit in your listening habits.

Deep Elm

www.deepelm.com