Clinic came out of the gates like Seabiscuit, with their knock-out debut Internal Wrangler. Therefore I was expecting Walking With Thee to pick up where it's brilliant predecessor left off and maybe even take it a notch higher. Which in truth is not quite the case. Though the material isn't necessarily a significant step down in quality, it just comes off as sterile and studied, where Wrangler sounded like it was recorded under water near an octopuses garden. This isn't to say that Walking With Thee isn't a worthy effort, it just lacks the adventuresome spirit of Wrangler, opting instead for quieter more cleaner production which represents maybe more of a digression. Not so much a move for the better or worse as a step sideways to take stock.

Walking With Thee is simply a different sort of recording that after enough spins finds it's way inside to where you keep your Radiohead and Mercury Rev. Whereas Wrangler made you feel like you were entering some sort of forbidden dreamland where you may never make it out with your soul in tact, Walking With Thee allays these fears with quieter more reverential opuses that are spare and devoid of all that reverb-soaked surrealism. There are a number of great songs on this album, but if anything it just piques your curiosity as to where these fellas are likely to take us next. Personally I can't wait.