Published on Feb 18, 2003
You get a singer-songwriter in a room with ex-members of Elvis
Costello’s Attractions, Alex Chilton’s backup band and Sandra
Bernhard’s backing musicians and something interesting will likely
happen.
At the center of this unlikely conglomerate is David Clement, an
artist who has had the chance to be part of the music scene in both
Chicago and New York. As the major labels did some major
house-cleaning because of the then-impending recession, David
Clement inadvertently got swept up with the clean-up. His album,
Your Free Gift, released on Show Dog Tunes, is a
re-recording of songs that were on his sophomore release.
The album is worth the purchase just to hear an artist who has a
gift for writing both interesting lyrics (some straightforwardness
mixed with a little stream-of-consciousness banter for good
measure) and a band that seems to take joy in the fact that they’re
searching for that irresistible melody or hook. Sometimes they find
it, like in the infectious, “ahhh” and “the yard.” Other times, the
quirkiness in songs like “geriatriphilia” will take a patient
listener.
Clement sounds like he is still trying to find his voice. On a
song like “Ms. Davis,” it sounds as if he borrowed heavily from the
Gin Blossoms. At other times, you can hear influences of Nick Drake
and early 70s-era Bob Dylan.
However, you can begin to hear Clement become more and more
assured of his own talents throughout
Your Free Gift. Even though he had label troubles, Clement
has been able to gain a following through his live shows as well as
television. Some of his tunes have appeared on
Dawson’s Creek and
Gilmore Girls.
“Smells like a metaphor” and “ho me” may be a bit too art-school
pretentious for their own good, but in an age where college rock is
still searching for an identity, it’s worth giving Clement
breathing room. And while there are enough songs to make “Your Free
Gift” worth a $12 purchase, the album lacks any major unifying
elements to qualify it as a masterpiece that almost slipped through
the cracks of the record industry. Instead of a cohesive album,
Your Free Gift should be taken more of as a sampler of what
Clement is capable of as a songwriter and as a musician.