"Why on earth bands still sign multi-album contracts is beyond me": Neil Fallon on Clutch, corporations and Christmas

Maryland quartet Clutch have been around since 1991, releasing 13 albums along the way. Favouring a no-frills, riff-heavy approach, they meld funk, blues, alt. rock, hardcore punk and metal to create a sound that is recognisable as all their own. Live, they are reliably hard-hitting and always compelling, putting substance before style.

Below, frontman Neil Fallon previews five British shows that start next week, revolving around their 1995 second album, Clutch.

On this tour the band will be celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of their 1995 album Clutch.

Actually, there’s been some confusion around that. It’s been reported that we are doing Clutch on this run, but that’s not what we are planning to do. Having said that, we will be playing a lot of songs from that album. But as for playing it in sequence? Although other bands do it, we believe it works out better in theory than in practice. So expect us to lean heavily on Clutch, but not in original running order.

Clutch is widely regarded as the album that solidified the band’s direction. You’ve even called it a “Eureka moment”.

It was definitely an important record for us. For me, it’s an improvement on our first seven-inch [Pitchfork] EP [Passive Restraint] and album [Transnational Speedway League: Anthems, Anecdotes And Undeniable Truths, all released between 1991 and ’93] and set us up for where we are today.

Musically, we stepped away from the hardcore roots that we had. We rediscovered the classic rock riffs that we had grown up with, and that opened up a whole other world. But for me personally, Clutch was a Eureka moment because with it we learned to tell stories, whereas those early releases simply expressed emotions. I find that a whole lot more satisfying.

Is it still the biggest-selling Clutch album in the United States?

That’s a good question, and I do not know the answer. Quite possibly it is, because it came out at a high-water mark in the era of CDs. So it’s probably our biggest [as a physical release], but I don’t know how you would measure that against the later, digital records and streaming.

In the UK Clutch was released via East West, part of the Atlantic Records stable. What did you learn about running your own record label, Weathermaker Music, from those experiences?

Well, now we’re sitting on both sides of the desk. The best thing [about being on a major label] was tour support, and that opened a lot of doors for us, but for decades our crew guys used to earn more than we did. It was only later on when we became independent that we could afford to live and have families. Why on earth bands still sign multi-album contracts is beyond me.

The press release for this tour tells us: “Production, staging and lighting will be designed especially to enhance the vibe of this ground-breaking release.” Dare we say it, this seems a little un-Clutch-like.

Yeah, it does, but that part of the press release is factual. We’ve got a huge backdrop that’s the same as the album’s gatefold image. We were envisioning video screens, but they cost too much money. One of the things that Clutch fans like about the band is our lack of production and special effects. It’ll be a cool show, but not like the ABBA [Voyage] experience.

Clutch’s festive gigs in Britain have become a bit of an institution.

Yeah. A while ago we realised that that period of time isn’t as densely booked for shows as the summer time, and it’s fun to play at Christmas time. There’s a lot of joy that we don’t see at home. Well, it’s there, but it’s pretty damned tacky.

Clutch are pretty hands-on over their support acts. Who will be with you this time?

It’s a Greek band called 1000mods and also Bokassa [a trio from Norway], so get there early.

Weathermaker are re-releasing Clutch on 180- gram vinyl. Any bonus or re-tweaked elements?

No, it’s just the original album as-is. First time around it was only available on vinyl in Japan, and those are now very rare and worth a lot of money.

The band began pre-production for a new album back in May, but we gather that it could be quite a while before it gets released.

We did begin a pre-production and writing session earlier this year, but then we went back out on tour. There will be another writing session in January, and the plan is to record in late January or early February. Nowadays, from finishing a record to mastering takes up to six months. And the great thing about being our own record label is that if it doesn’t feel right to put it out at that time, we won’t. We’d rather wait and make it as good as it can be. That’s where we are at. There are a number of songs in the can, but I’m not going to predict when it might be released.

And they sound good?

Every year it gets harder and harder to come up with stuff, because you already have these existing records, but… yeah. We know that [as an album] it’ll be alright.

Clutch are currently on tour in Europe. UK dates begin in Bristol on December 15, with shows following in Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and London. Get tickets.