The Clutters

Nashville's The Clutters are one of the few proper rock bands playing in the city. Within seconds of seeing them live or hearing their new record, T&C, you'll know that they are a band unconcerned with the fashion of the moment. They bash out three minute nuggets of verse-chorus-verse pleasure with plenty of crunch. Between the rusty power chords, walking bass lines, and a hell of a lot of cymbals, you'll hear squeaky guitar leads and a Farfisa. It's too messy for polite company, but too fun to keep to yourself. They bash out rock 'n' roll with the glee and rebellion of '70s punk but without the posed angst. You know, it's just like good rock 'n' roll ought to be.

The Clutters started playing in 2002 after the dissolution of an earlier group that introduced Doug Lehmann and Jake Rosswog to drummer Stephanie Fillippini. Jake and Doug had played together in bands since high school and Jake really wanted to play garage rock. Their starting points were songs from bands like the Sonics, The Mummies, and The Gories. Soon, they were writing originals in the same vein of those songs. The more the band played out, the more their songs grew out of the garage. With the addition of Ali Tonn on Farfisa in late 2003, the songs became more melodic. Ali's Farfisa hooks immediately jump into your brain and help ease The Clutters' songs as they careen from riff to riff. Doug's voice, meanwhile, has grown from a mumbled sneer to an impassioned instrument. He yelps and screams like a young Black Francis, but tempers it with a nasal tone that recalls the collision of rock 'n' roll and honky tonk. With the release of their debut album, T&C, on Chicken Ranch Records this spring, The Clutters are set to start converting rock 'n' roll atheists with their faithful rock 'n' roll.