• Record Label: Domino
  • Release Date: Aug 24, 2004
Metascore
66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 31
  2. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. In and of itself, Winchester Cathedral is a fine introduction to Clinic and an entertaining 35 minutes of evocative rock. But it's hard to believe that at this late date, having been together for seven years, the band can't find new modes of musical expression.
  2. Blender
    60
    All very beguilling as long as you really, really like the sound of a melodica. [Sep 2004, p.134]
  3. If it was pared down to its best tracks, Winchester Cathedral would make a solid EP. As it stands, it's far from bad, but it's a little boring, which is worse than bad from a band that has sounded so unique in the past.
  4. Should you own the band’s magnificent first three singles (collected on the “Three EPs” mini-album), it’s hard to imagine you’ll ever really need another record by this conceptually brilliant, artistic dead-end of a band.
  5. Spin
    58
    Music as spooky--and ultimately as sterile--as the hospital scrubs and surgical masks they wear onstage. [Sep 2004, p.120]
  6. I'd be lying if I said this was bad music -- but perhaps worse, the bulk of this album fails to make any unique impression whatsoever.
  7. There are no new ideas, no points of interest.
  8. Q Magazine
    40
    [Clinic] has misplaced the groove and settled for a rut. [Sep 2004, p.117]
  9. Whereas Walking With Thee was a wonderful relief in the indie/retro-rock world, pushing the band's internal parameters and the idea of what pop music should sound like, Winchester Cathedral feels more like a roadblock, or at least a pit stop, rather than a step forward in Clinic's previously innovative evolution.
  10. Mojo
    40
    They sound a bit tired. [Sep 2004, p.98]
  11. Rolling Stone
    40
    Much of the time it sounds like Clinic are just playing around with their noisemakers and not having much fun. [2 Sep 2004, p.141]
  12. It’s frustrating to listen to a band run in place, especially when the expectations are so much higher.
User Score
tbd

No user score yet- Awaiting 1 more rating

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. MatthewS
    Nov 17, 2005
    8
    Clinic might sound the same album to album to some, but this is only half true. This album still rocks an sways in a manner only Clinic can Clinic might sound the same album to album to some, but this is only half true. This album still rocks an sways in a manner only Clinic can pull off, incorporating elements of Surf Rock, Doo Wop, Punk, Noise, and this time European Folk into something quite uniquely them. In that sense it is quite unfair to discredit them for doing what they've always done, because they have always been original. Full Review »
  2. JesseS
    Oct 18, 2004
    8
    Clinic sound like a menacing Liverpoolian Girls Against Boys, but more stripped down, eerie, and with a distinct indie home-on-the-range Clinic sound like a menacing Liverpoolian Girls Against Boys, but more stripped down, eerie, and with a distinct indie home-on-the-range English sensibility. It doesn't make a lot of sense but comes together quite nicely. Unlike the general consensus, I like this one better than "Internal Wrangler". Full Review »