ClobberJaw

Great recordings? Easy to review: Just use the enthusiasm the music stirs, and the words take care of themselves. Terrible albums? A snap, too, since the unpleasant feelings they produce lead naturally to anger, resentment and nasty adjectives. But the mediocre ones? Those are tough. Jeff Kingery, ClobberJaw's main man,...

By Michael Roberts

May 7, 2009

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Great recordings? Easy to review: Just use the enthusiasm the music stirs, and the words take care of themselves. Terrible albums? A snap, too, since the unpleasant feelings they produce lead naturally to anger, resentment and nasty adjectives. But the mediocre ones? Those are tough. Jeff Kingery, ClobberJaw's main man, can sing (albeit in a voice typically associated with helium and balloons), and he's adept at playing assorted guitars and keyboards. But Toxic Syndrome tracks such as "Punch the Clown" and "Proximity" draw from the sort of '70s and '80s art-shlock fare that's better for comic relief in I Love You, Man than it is for 21st-century listening. Next time, make the music a lot better or a lot worse. Either way's fine by me.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

Contact: Michael Roberts

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