NEIL FALLON On New CLUTCH: “It’s Taken Longer Than I Think We Would’ve Liked”

Clutch fans eager for new music will be glad to hear that the band is deep in the songwriting process for their next album. In a recent interview with the Mark And Me podcast, frontman Neil Fallon shared an update on the follow-up to Sunrise On Slaughter Beach, released in September 2022.

“Yeah, we’re writing now. It’s taken longer than I think we would’ve liked to have, but to be honest, we toured a lot in the past three years, like really grounded down,” Fallon explained. “When you come home from tour, you don’t wanna turn around the next day and say, ‘Let’s get together and write a song.’ Gotta take a bit of a break.”

He went on to describe the band’s current creative process, saying that they typically meet “once, twice a week for four or five hours” to work on new material. According to Fallon, the best songs often emerge organically rather than being overly planned. “You gotta write a lot of garbage to get to the good stuff. And it seems the less premeditated it is, those are the songs that end up as part of the canon, almost the accidental songs. Those are the ones that seem to be the best.”

When asked about the possibility of a solo album, Fallon admitted that while he has written music outside of Clutch, he isn’t interested in pursuing a separate project. “I’ve written a handful of solo works, for lack of a better word, just because they never ended up in the hands of the band. Not because I’m keeping it a secret. It’s just I listened to it, and it’s, like, I don’t think this is gonna make a lot of sense, trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. And I don’t have any interest in being in another band. I feel very satisfied with where I’m at.”

Beyond music, Fallon has also rekindled an old artistic passion—oil painting. “The only other thing I kind of occupy my time with is I’ve taken up oil painting, which I used to do when I was really young,” he revealed. “And I find it to be a very good distraction from music, and a lot of times I come up with lyrics when I’m doing that instead of sitting down with a blank piece of paper. It’s just another exercise to keep the creative brain in shape and not atrophy.”

Clutch has a whole shit ton of tour dates lined up for this June through August. Tickets are available here.

Clutch, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, and Nate Bergman

6/6 Montreal, QC MTELUS
6/7 Pickering, ON The Arena at Pickering Casino Resort
6/8 Ottawa, ON Bronson Centre Theatre
6/10 Moncton, NB Molson Canadian Centre at Casino New Brunswick
6/12 Lynn, MA Lynn Memorial Auditorium
6/13 Portland, ME State Theatre
6/14 Bensalem, PA Parx Casino
6/15 Albany, NY Empire Live
6/17 Morgantown, WV Ruby Amphitheater
6/19 Sault Ste Marie, MI Kewadin Casino Indoor Concert
6/20 Ann Arbor, MI Michigan Theater
6/21 Elizabeth, IN Caesars Event Center at Caesars Southern Indiana
6/22 Pelham, TN The Caverns
6/24 Charleston, SC Charleston Music Hall
6/25 Lake Buena Vista, FL House of Blues
6/27 Columbus, OH KEMBA Live!
6/28 Greensboro, NC Piedmont Hall

Clutch, Blacktop Mojo & The Inspector Cluzo

7/30 Little Rock, AR The Hall
7/31 Oklahoma City, OK Diamond Ballroom
8/1 Austin, TX Emo’s
8/3 Fort Collins, CO Washington’s
8/4 Sturgis, SD Bike Week at Iron Horse Saloon
8/5 Bozeman, MT The ELM
8/7 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
8/9 Edmonton, AB Midway Music Hall
8/10 Tsuut’ina, AB Grey Eagle Resort & Casino
8/12 Fargo, ND UP District Festival Field
8/14 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
8/15 Chesterfield, MO The Factory
8/16 Hammond, IN Horsehoe Hammond Casino