Reviews of Kill Devil Hills

Toronto-based artist Jim Clements is another in a long line of fresh-faced Canadian singer/songwriters waiting for their debut album to make them the next Neil Young. Much more so than others Clements has got a heck of a shot, his voice warbling above the strains of violin and carefully picked acoustic guitar setting him apart. Sitting in the vein of alt.country, Kill Devil Hills presents Clements as a thoughtful, extremely talented lyricist. Not as edgy as a Patrick Wolf but much darker than your run-of-the-mill Nick Drake knockoff, Clements mixes beautiful melodies with stories about killing a potential lover's current boyfriend, and the oddly haunting tale of lost youth found in "Wendy Darling" (of Peter Pan fame, get it?). The odds of actually making it to Neil Young proportions are ridiculously slim, but if a bet had to be placed, Clements would be a top choice.
From: Soulshine

Out-Of-Nowhere Award: a debut record called Kill Devil Hills on Fading Ways Records. It has the heart and soul of all those old country records, but it's super-catchy and folky and front porchy - part "Broken and Blue" by the Fembots, part Crazy Horse guitar, part Will Oldham voice, part absolutely fucking heartbreaking slide guitar. Worth your time and your dime.
From: CHMA Best of Year list

Jim Clements is really something special. With only the lightest, minimalist stroke of guitar and voice Kill Devil Hills paints a spooky, shadowy landscape. Clements has a knack for the kind of deeply black humoured lyrics you can return to year after year and still wonder about, drawing amazingly vivid scenes yet leaving enough details to the imagination to leave you asking after his characters. Kill Devil Hills is a fascinating place to visit and like it or not you might just stay.
From: Bubblegum Slut UK Fanzine

What is going on in Canada? Clements is yet another one off the production line of exceptional talent being turned out with monotonous regularity from Canada these days. On first listen, the baby faced troubadour comes across as a Costello/Chris Mills type song writer who's voice has a peculiar (thus engagingly distinctive) English clipped style about it - but lyrically he has a real sting in his tale.
From: Americana UK Magazine

Clements shows himself a talented songwriter, and Kill Devil Hills is chock-full of beautiful ballads…. Like [Wilco’s] Jeff Tweedy, Jim Clements has a way of making darkness beautiful…. Expect good things from him.
FROM: antiMusic
****

In a world where competent acousticy-strummy-folky-singery-songwritery sort of people are ten-a-fucking-penny, you have to have something to make you stand out from the crowd. Jim Clements might have a quirky, high register vocal style, but that only narrows down the field to 300,000 or so. So I was charging up my critical bellows with a view to winnowing out a bit more of the chaff for you good people. But chaff Mr Clements ain’t… The name of Nick Cave has been whispered, but he has more in common with another Jim, Mr O’Rourke – especially on the transgressive delights of Coming Up Roses and Before the Beating Starts. I know quoting lyrics in a review is somewhat gauche, but how often do you get a chorus like “And in a cruel twist of fate, I met my true love three days late; She’d met another tender lover, so much like me he could be my brother; So I’m buckling down, trying to make her come around; A few choice words or perhaps a murder; I’ll break their hearts before the beating even starts”?
From: SoundsXP
***1/2