By rights Clutch should be the biggest rock band in the world. No one else makes music this damn good. They're original, heavy, intelligent, humorous, groovy, and great in bed. And yet there unpopularity is such that they're reduced to having to release this, their new ep, Jam Room on their own River Road Records. Perhaps this will be the one to break them. Well actually I doubt it, but that's no reflection on the music herein which is just about the best thing I've heard all year.

Retaining the good time vibe of their last release, Elephant Riders, Clutch turn their hand to a looser, more experimental collection with half the tracks being either instrumental or skits. A huge dose of the funk has been applied to several of the tracks, with Big Fat Pig in particular sounding not unlike the Red Hot Chili Peppers with a better vocalist. Indeed Neil Fallon is truly on top form throughout Jam Room, dishing out all manner of vocal stylings, sounding at times like a demonic gospel preacher and at others like a falsetto country singer. His lyrics are the usual fantastically imaginative stuff taking in such topics as dealing with record company pressures in an unconventional way as he "commenced to do a tap dance on Eggplant Parmesan before their eyes" while out for dinner with executives on Raised by Horses and with Greek legends on Release the Kraken. It is these unique lyrics that elevate Clutch above their peers and make them a really special band. The musicianship is magnificent too with tracks like Goin to Market showing them at their grooviest yet and the intro to Basket of Eggs sounding superbly cinematic, like the opening titles to the end of the world.

If there's one complaint, it's that there are a couple of moments when the ad hoc vibe stretches the attention span to breaking point on repeated listens particularly the drum solo that closes one of the tracks. But hey, the damn thing's called Jam Room so what do you expect?

With this rollercoaster ride of an ep Clutch have yet again proved their quality and allowed their twisted personality to shine through cementing their status as one of the USA's premier rock bands. Now who wants to rock? (9)