Eef Barzelay, a.k.a Clem Snide, recently moved from Park Slope to Tennessee in search of pastures greener than Prospect Park. We'll still give him love even though he left us for a huge house that was cheaper than his shoebox apartment on one of the noisiest streets in Brooklyn.
For the better part of a decade, Barzelay and his revolving crew of musicians have quietly been making wonderfully eccentric pop-folk-jazz-country rock with a playful lyrical bent. Clem Snide has always been clever, but the band has matured of late, concentrating on stronger melodies instead of how many puns and ironies a three-minute song can have. Barzelay is at his best when he busts out the acoustic guitar and sings sincerely. His downbeat wistfulness works far better than the upbeat dirty bar band Clem Snide can sometimes become. Nevertheless, Brooklyn is sorry to see him go. |
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