At times Britpop seems to exercise a strange control over the American music scene. In England, however, the scene is even bigger, with a wide assortment of bands with huge fanbases. But oddly enough most of those bands essentially can be grouped into two categories: experimental Britpop and conventional Britpop. The former category, which includes bands like Radiohead and Blur, gets huge amounts of publicity, while the latter consists of bands that revive or repackage the sound of older British bands in the vein of Oasis.

Clearlake, a four-member rock band from England, is the newest addition to the canon of Britpop artists. However, rather than being “the next Radiohead” or sounding like another Beatles rip-off, Clearlake at some level succeeds in finding its own dynamic sound. On its second full-length record, Cedars, produced by one-time Cocteau Twin Simon Raymonde, the band manages to incorporate conventional and experimental elements, showcasing its influences while attempting to move past them with newer forms of instrumentation.

For instance, Cedars’ fourth song, “Can’t Feel a Thing,” is an upbeat rocker on which Clearlake immerses itself in contemporary British rock. The song, revolving around a three-chord power-riff, demonstrates clear ties to early Radiohead, and lead singer Jason Pegg waxes existential as he sings the chorus: “Don’t want to go there/I only know that I/Can’t feel a thing.” At the same time, however, “Thing” also features many variances in instrumentation, including some light guitar strumming during the verses and some interesting uses of an effects pedal during the chorus.