Interview with Clinic Stars
by Killian Laher

No More Workhorse sat down with Christian Molik and Giovanna Lenski for a brief chat about the band, their new album and 4AD.

Clinic Stars is a new band from the US that make ambient music, combining guitars with electronics.  The duo are something of a mystery, there is little information about them online.  First, we discussed how Molik and Lenski started making music together.  “We got together in 2019 I think,” Molik mused.  “We released 2 EPs and then created our own studio.”

The band are about to release a new album, Only Hinting, in September.  Molik explained: “This one was a little bit different.  We recorded the album at home.  It was very convenient as we were able to work at our own pace, and work whenever we wanted to”.

The band hails from Detroit, once referred to as Motor City and known for the birth of Motown.  So what’s the current scene like there? “Detroit is known for its music scene,” says Molik.  “There is a healthy punk scene there”.  Lenski agrees, “Lots of well-known music comes from Detroit”.  However, it’s fair to say the band don’t sound particularly like their native counterparts. “The music we agreed on was the music on 4AD, British bands from the mid-80s to the early 90s”.  “The This Mortal Coil albums were the ones that really grabbed me” says Lenski.

The band have no immediate plans to tour or go to Europe, so don’t bank on catching them live any time soon.  “We haven’t played any shows outside Detroit”, Lenski says before Molik qualifies this, saying “We will play a show (in Detroit) with Windy and Carl (US ambient duo)”.

Less is definitely more in this band’s case.  The album, Only Hinting, will be released on September 20th. You can hear the title track below.

Only Hinting