Clothes Make the Man

On their second EP, Clothes Make the Man have offered up six truly great rusted-out rock songs. Sounding like Dinosaur Jr. working towards a mean case of throat nodules, the band’s brand of sandpaper pop showcases both huge hooks and a driving delivery. Rarely settling for convention, their song structures stray into winding riffs and clashing tempos all with great results. This kind of abandon leads to truly inspired emotional outbursts. As the band arcs itself toward peaks with their chainsaw guitar distortion and vocals gritty enough to make any cigarette rep smile, they manage to transcend to the kind of raw emotion Neil Young was pouring out on his Eldorado EP. The album’s highlights are "I Hope You’re Not Bored” and "Ready Or Not.” Both showcase the fantastic vocal delivery of Ryan McLennan and Scott Henry, while extenuating the band’s modelling glue tightness. A throwback without being dated, Clothes Make the Man have delivered some of the most promising music to come out of Toronto this year.