The Clockworks

After touring their 2023 debut *Exit Strategy*, Galway-born, London-based quartet The Clockworks closed a defining chapter. The move to London led to work with Bernard Butler and support tours with Pixies and Johnny Marr. Back in the writing room, they shifted focus outward, addressing social alienation driven by modern technology. Their second album, *The Entertainment*, formed quickly with a clear identity. The band call it a “work of friction,” built on tension and contrast. Unlike the fast, collaborative process of the debut, this record was produced by Sean Connelly and recorded in isolation over months. Each member tracked parts separately, later assembling them to heighten tension—mirroring the album’s themes.

The sound expands beyond guitar rock to include piano, synths, strings, and experimental textures. Influences range from Little Simz to Ennio Morricone. Cinematic references shape the mood, with nods to La Dolce Vita and critiques of Big Tech framed through The Magnificent Seven. Production choices reinforce the concept: dense, manipulated openings contrast with raw live takes left unpolished. The artwork echoes a vintage cinema image, underscoring the album’s central duality—technology’s spectacle versus real human connection. With their second, The Clockworks are highlighting that duality but they’re also offering a tangible reason to support the alternative: a group of mates, making music to get you off a screen and into the world. That, after all, is really entertainment.