CLANK – Cumulus (Album of the Month 06/25)

The word "cumulus" comes from Latin and means something like "accumulation." The fact that CLANK's new album is also named after this is—at least one can assume—probably no coincidence.

Indeed, the sound of the Leipzig-based band around drummer and composer Clemens Litschko has accumulated quite a bit. First and foremost, of course: jazz. And in all its variations. At times playful, at times smooth, at times powerful, at times atmospheric, the quartet pulls out all the stops imaginable in its field. At the same time, however, »Cumulus« is far more than just a jazz album: The album's diverse timbres repeatedly reflect characteristics of post-rock and indie. Thus, some of the album's elegiac, solemn passages could also have come from The The's later phase. The dynamic ending of »Nimbus« suggests that guitarist Jonas Dorn, in particular, has listened to one or two Mogwai albums in his lifetime.

But despite all potential referentiality: If you listen to »Cumulus« from beginning to end, a diverse sound character of rarely experienced intensity and expressiveness is revealed.

Luca Glenzer