Something sounds slightly off from the beginning of Eldridge Rodriguez’s “All My Favorite Clowns Are Dead.” The melody warps slightly, a bell rings out counting cadence in the rhythm like a reminder of how things have gone a bit or more than a bit off the rails in the world the last few years. In half a decade we’ll collectively have glossed over this time when we should be remembering and taking steps to make the world a better place because we’ve really been given a chance with a relatively minor global health disaster compared to the collapse of all world economies in the wake of what looks like the inevitable future climate disaster. But that’s getting away from the way this song’s strong rhythms and lightly psychedelic flourishes frame a song about hubris, ego and the delusional behaviors that happen every day that help so many of us to hold on to beliefs and lifestyles that are unsustainable. Eldridge Rodriguez makes those behaviors personal and relatable. You hear a bit of that Liquid Liquid bass style circa “Cavern” keeping things steady but the distorted, burbling synth flows over those reliable bass lines like life and society coming apart and Cameron Keiber’s vocals doubling and waxing ever so slightly desperate as well. There is a strong tone of compassion for the ways in which we alow ourselves to believe what seems convenient to preserve a way of life that has brought us success and comfort and the manner in which we cling to those ways of being even as it’s coming apart. On this song the band unites the virtues of post-punk’s strong and stark rhythms with colorful atmospheric touches that can flow and dribble outside established boundaries giving the whole thing a fragile quality that keeps you hooked to the end. Listen to “All My Favorite Clowns Are Dead” on Soundcloud and follow the group at its website linked below. The single is the B-side to the Eldridge Rodriguez single “Have I Gone Too Far” released on January 28, 2022.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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