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''Clockdust'' is the third
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by English musician and former
Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981 by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), Paul Webb (bass), and Simon Brenner (keyboards). Initially a synth-pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, '' The Party's Over'' (198 ...
bassist
Paul Webb Paul Douglas Webb (born 16 January 1962), also known by the stage name Rustin Man, is an English musician. He was the bassist for the English band Talk Talk. Biography Webb attended The Deanes School in Thundersley, Essex, with drummer Lee ...
, under his moniker Rustin Man. It was released on 20 March 2020 through
Domino Recording Company Domino Recording Company, or simply Domino, is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called ...
.


Background and release

''Clockdust'' originated during the same sessions as Webb's previous album, '' Drift Code''. The first songs Webb wrote were "long arrangements that built up in layers to something sonically quite dense"; then, "as a reaction", he wrote a series of songs that were "tighter in their structure but had more feeling of space". Realizing he had enough material for two albums, the first set of songs became the core of ''Drift Code'', while the second set became ''Clockdust''. The album's lead single was "Jackie's Room", with a music video directed by Edwin Burdis. Alongside ''Clockdust'', Webb also announced three live performances, his first since 2003 (with
Beth Gibbons Beth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She is the singer and lyricist for the band Portishead, who have released three albums. She released an album with fellow English musician Rustin Man, '' Out of Season'', ...
) and his first as a solo artist. For the shows, Webb was to be supported by five other musicians, several of which played on the
Dez Mona Dez Mona is a Belgian band formed in 2003, playing a combination of jazz, gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English w ...
album ''Hilfe Kommt'' that Webb produced in 2009. However, on 4 September 2020, the planned performances were cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Critical reception

''Clockdust'' received positive reviews from critics. The aggregate review site
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
assigns a score of 83 out of 100 based on 8 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Writing for
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, Heather Phares wrote that the album "leans into 'Drift Code''s antiqued, lived-in feeling and takes it in its own intriguing directions", and that " ebbis in a league of his own when it comes to making the most of music's time-traveling, spell-casting powers, and like ''Drift Code'' before it, ''Clockdust'' proves that Rustin Man's music has only grown richer and more rewarding over the years." Chris White of ''
musicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...
'' praised the album's "asymmetric rhythms and unconventional melodies", with comparisons to
Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Until his departure in 1968, he was Pink Floyd's frontman and primary songwriter, ...
and
Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
, and felt the album "hang together in its own peculiar way", but "perhaps ultimately lacking the truly special, standout ingredients needed to elevate Webb’s solo work to the kind of rarefied levels he helped Talk Talk achieve." Michael Sumsion of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' described the album as "steeped in wyrd-folk aesthetics and animated by exotic and unexpected flourishes", and applauded it as "another cohesive, gripping, and quirky statement that possesses its distinct character and feels detached from the contemporary soundscape. Other, higher-profile releases will command the lion's share of media noise in the coming months, but Clockdust is the sort of record whose myriad soothing charms and subtle depths will continue to resonate far beyond the click-bait."


Track listing


References

{{Authority control 2020 albums Paul Webb albums Domino Recording Company albums