Eef Barzelay largely retreated from the public eye over the past decade. The indie songwriter charmed in the 2000s with his band Clem Snide’s sweet, melancholy melodies swooning behind his distinctly warm nasal vocals, yet bankruptcy, divorce, and depression weighed through recent years. Which makes Clem Snide’s 2020’s return with Forever Just Beyond even more extraordinarily powerful, a lush slow burn reclamation of self and hope as Barzelay winds through desperation towards an elusive light that recalls Vic Chesnutt and Phosphorescent. Produced by Scott Avettt, the album offers a beautiful and brutal testimony to the love and pain of the human condition.
Tue., Jan. 18