Clinic "Bubblegum"

I remembered their album "Walking with Thee" from 2002 and I thought I liked it, so I sampled the first 20 seconds or so of a couple of the new tracks from this record and decided to get it.  Just remember, I pay for these myself.  I don't receive promos from labels.  So I am picky about my choices, and for the twenty months I've been blogging about new music, I have yet to pay for a complete turkey.  "Bubblegum," however, is a 92.3% turd.  For the non-mathematicians, that's one redeeming track out of thirteen.  I've seen comparisons to Radiohead, Elbow, and Arcade Fire, and I only like Elbow from those choices, but I don't get the connection.  The gimmick for this British band is they wear surgical masks, and it's apropos since the sound is so sterile.  The songs here are dull and BORING!  Art-punk, my ass!  I even went back to my catalog to see if I could find the earlier album just to see what had changed, but it wasn't there.  Slowly, it's coming back to me through the fog.  One of my assistant managers at Music 4 Less was a fan so I believe I gave it to him.  And honestly, I think I was confusing Clinic with Caviar.  Damn fog gets thicker with age...