CLINIC, formed in Liverpool in 1997, slams the United States with its big debut CD, “Internal Wrangler,” which updates organ-drenched garage rock with spooky, electronic touches and sounds of breaking waves.
Clinic’s lead singer, Ade Blackburn; bassist Brian Campbell; Hartley, one of those one-name guitarists; and drummer Carl Turney push their groove along on the powerful album, which is due out tomorrow.
And now this band of many moods is here. Clinic, which toured with Radiohead for its “Kid A” album and will head to Japan with Thom Yorke and company after this U.S. stopover, will put on green surgical masks to play tomorrow at Maxwell’s (1039 Washington St., Hoboken, N.J. [201] 798-0406). On Wednesday, it opens for the Olympia, Wash., punk trio Unwound at the Bowery Ballroom (6 Delancey St. at Bowery, [212] 533-2111) and hits a CMJ Showcase at the Knitting Factory (74 Leonard St. at Church, [212] 219-3055) with Four Tet, Pilot and the Folk Implosion.
* TONIGHT: The band behind punk/metal karaoke at Arlene Grocery (95 Stanton St. at Ludlow, [212] 358-1633) is adding a keyboard player to transform this Monday into Arena Rock Karaoke, which will bang out the music that took over the FM airwaves from 1975 to 1983. So during your lunch hour, brush up on Journey, Boston, Styx, Heart, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Queen, Loverboy and Asia, and step back into the ’80s by nightfall.
* TOMORROW: Five-piece rock band Flickerstick from Dallas just signed with Epic after winning the top prize on VH1’s “Bands on the Run,” competing against three other unsigned acts. Flickerstick already has enough material for VH1’s other program, “Behind the Music,” but for now, the group will play at Irving Plaza (17 Irving Place at 15th Street, [212] 777-6800).
* WEDNESDAY: Hailing from Austin, Texas, the Derailers bring retro-country music and a new album, “Here Come the Derailers,” full of two-steppers, to the Village Underground (130 Third St. at Sixth Ave., [212] 777-7745), opening for Gaelic Storm.
* FRIDAY: When Tokyo’s eX-Girl, formed in 1997 – with Kirilo on vocals, bass and Casiotone, Chihiro on vocals, guitars and sitars, and Fuzuki on vocals, drums and percussion – none of its members had any musical experience. Obviously, the girls do now, although it’s difficult to narrowly define their avant-garde punk rock sound.
Their third album, “Back to the Mono Kero,” is wildly energetic, full of crazy vocal harmonies and unidentifiable sounds; eX-Girl’s live shows are even more so, with lots of costume changes, plastic rayguns and toy frogs, which reflect the cartoonish element of some of their music. Check the eX-Girl factor at the Knitting Factory.
