“Endless Days” helps solidify Michigan’s budding Lansing scene as a favorite amongst the most exciting in the midwest.
Endless Days
It seems that we get mind-blowing releases from Michigan DIY acts almost every single week and Clipboards LP1 is par for the musical course. Written over the course of the past year, Clipboards showed off a multitude of musical talent and artistic vision. “Endless Days” paints Clipboards as something like a track team, with each song feeling like an event and the band itself a team working towards a common goal of a complete puzzle.
Ten songs coming in at just over 35 minutes, Clipboards first Album proves to listeners that the talent is also endless in the group, with each member bringing something to offer the project. All four members have at least one song that they wrote and brought to the group, a common theme that can be heard throughout the album. Listening through the album once does not feel quite right once “Silverware” ends, I felt like I had this “woah, let me do that again” moment.
Without bias, I really already enjoyed previous work from Clipboards, and to say my expectations were high is selling it short because I had a pretty good feeling they would blow me away. Doing that and more, Clipboards kept my head and feet moving for a half hour using a really cool mixture of addictive guitar tone and musical structure. I love being able to hear growth through the tracks and how each artists was able to single themselves out as a showcase of their talent.
LangLab in South Bend, Indiana
Kicking things off with a fun, video-game sounding instrumental, “Big Bets” shows the listener what to expect for the rest of the album. If i had to give a theme to the front half of the album, the first two tracks feature driving guitar melodies, but the songs are just so packed full of different elements that the first theme I get is “check this out” or “get ready”.
Bassist Alec Olsen shared that “Furnaces” was written in one jam session, furthering the bands theme of the perfect puzzle. He shared that they had the basic skeleton for most songs, that they just needed to combine missing parts for each one. On the same theme, Alec himself became a clutch missing piece for the band, growing up through school with guitarist Will Bailey and filling in once they went searching.
“Independent” is the third track on the album and a favorite of mine along with “Wasted” and “Silverware”. This track is so addictive, reminiscent of past Clipboards work keeping two guitar tones working with each other. The last minute of this song is my favorite thing about this band, an absolute in cymbal blasting run to the finish line, showing that energy I think is so important. This is the first time of many in the album that I stopped and listened to it over and over again until I moved on, screaming that “1,2,3,4”.
Transitioning with the instrumental track “Sprinklers” switch up to a lowfi beat and some really cool relaxing tones. I like a cool break in an album, but this one feels right for the most part staying with the theme of the previous song. Sometimes instrumentals have an adverse effect on the listener forcing them to turn it off, this one feels like an extension instead. You don’t get much of a break however because the album picks right back up with “Sanchezia”.
Growing up with little brothers and unchecked internet access, I never thought I would hear the words “killer bean” after 2012 but Clipboards totally proved me wrong in “Wasted”. This track talks about a stupid movie with a “hero bean” and getting high with your friends before class, reminding me of those existential nights spent doing all the things you don’t want to do, regretting past choices and memories. This is one of the tracks with fun instrumental breaks at the end, blasting away on the drums, that make you want to grow your hair out and break your neck.
All four members having a part in songs becomes very evident with “Ladybug”, featuring the drummer Drake Davis doing the lead vocals. Drake explained that this album taught him patience and how to be opened minded. He explained that “these guys are talented” and that leaning how to grow as a team and use each others abilities was the only way it became a success. I love the groups almost obvious theme, they make it easy to listen to an album and hear each individual message. While we may not hear the vocals live, Drake gave the listener plenty of fun lyrics to remember the song by, “bring us the sun” evokes a ton of different meanings.
Closing out the album, “Silverware” might be my favorite song from the collection. Of course having a trumpet part is a green flag for myself, but this song is much more than that, a perfect blend of all the elements they showed on the 9 previous tracks. This song reminds me of growing up in a low middle class home that never felt complete, specifically because I always had to set the table for dinner, no matter the occasion.
Will and Drake met in a club at Michigan State University, building audio setups and guitar pedals as classwork and for fun. While demoing some pedals, they decided to jam a little when Will pulled out the riff from 90’s classic “Cherub Rock”. Donnie Lived on the same hall as Drake and also began jamming with them, Alec not joining until the need for a bassist was noticed.
I met Alec at Papa Pete’s in Kalamazoo, Michigan earlier in the year, catching up with him and scene staple Joe Yancheson before FinalBossFight! took the stage. We talked briefly about the surrounding area and how much talent is spewing out of the Lansing basements. I ran into Clipboards two more times this year, once at PUG fest in Michigan and LangLab in South Bend, Indiana, being impressed both times.
Theres a lot left to say about 2023 as a whole, a year that seen many things in our small sub-culture get exciting. This album along with others are only adding to the conversation that needs to be had amongst music enjoyers in the coming years. This is 4 people with different interests, lives, goals and they are somehow finding time to bring us classic pieces of work like “Endless Days”. The bar is getting higher everyday and Clipboards is proving that it does not take rich parents or a loan from a shady music label to leave an impression
Clipboards has many plans in the future but for now they are ready to just get together again, seeing as they are spread out over the state. Will and Alec are now living together and they continue to write everyday. Alec explained that “we have 10 or 12 songs ready to go already” and that they just need to find time to be in the same room. Its a gauruntee that when the time comes, everyones seat at the table matters and thats what’s most important to them.
FFO: FinalBossFight!, Charmer, Sports., Pet Symmetry
Will sings lead vocals on “I Saw a Tree While Train Surfing in Morocco”, “Wasted”, and “Silverware” Drake sings lead vocals on “Sprinklers” and “Ladybug” Alec sings lead vocals on “Furnaces”, “Independent”, “Sanchezia”, and “Someone Else” Donnie sings lead vocals on “Furnaces” and “Sanchezia”
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Adam Whitener in his basement
Additional engineering and arrangement by Nelson T Gast Additional arrangement on “Furnaces” by Gabe Kaul
The Diygest 
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