Getaway
If you haven't heard the Clean yet, you may have heard their  influence bubbling up inStereolab's loopy  keyboards or inSonic Youth's more  experimental excursions.Getawaymarks the Clean's triumphant  return: brothers David and Hamish (theMad Scene) Kilgour,  with Robert Scott (theBats), together  again after five years, seem rejuvenated from their solo work, ready to  reexplore the outer reaches of New Zealand space pop. WithYo La Tengo's Ira  Kaplan and Georgia Hubley each playing on two tracks, there is indeed a  feel-good guitar vibe onGetaway, but the chicken/egg argument  ends there--the Clean have been around for over 20 years. Trading  vocals in their customary fashion, Hamish recalls a more laid-backLou Reedon  "Crazy," while David summonsSpacemen 3on the  vibrant opener "Stars." Scott's signature croon on "E-Motel" is as  comforting as ever, breezy and gauze-thin. On other tracks, the cool  sounds envelop you like a blanket, proving that when these guys get  together, the total effect is greater than the sum of the chiming,  jangling parts.--Cyndi Elliott