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Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Label: None
Management: None
Website: www.soundcloud.com
Sounds Like: Metric, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, PJ Harvey, The Kills, Nirvana
Genre: Rock
“Like Elastica with extra vitriol and a dash of grandeur.” - MTV Music Blog
Clinical Trials is the electro-grunge offspring of Somer Bingham, a self-produced multi-instrumentalist and a powerful, unforgettable performer who recently brought her grungy edge & likable personality to Showtime’s docu-series The Real L Word. Both Bingham and the music of Clinical Trials can be similarly described: fueled by punk, tinged with sexuality, and dangerously charming. “While projecting a unique style all her own, it’s not hard to imagine Somer as the sonic lovechild of Kurt Cobain and Joan Jett.”
The other half of this riotous duo is the recent addition of drummer Stacey Lee, a pop-punk, riot-grrrl inspired 5’2″ powerhouse behind the DDrum set. Hailing from Staten Island, NY she defies her hometown’s stereotypes, taking interest in thrift shop finds and unkempt body hair to the usual fake tan and Juicy Couture wardrobe. Stacey has opened for such noteable acts as Misfits, The Cult, Girl in a Coma, and Dramarama. With every bang on her three-piece kit, she adds her own touch of femininist-A.D.D to the male-dominated genre of rock n roll, inspired by the likes of Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Quasi, Wild Flag) and Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint). Stacey Lee also plays with post-punk band Plastiq Passion, with whom she has been featured in a variety of newspapers and magazines including the Staten Island Advance and The Aquarian.
Taking inspiration from the energy of Nirvana, Patti Smith and PJ Harvey, Clinical Trials is the perfect hybrid of raw sound combined with a love of production in the vein of Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode and The Kills. The end result oozes an intoxicating dysphoria that breeds in a world of whiskey waterfalls & post-punk pop.
“Clinical Trials steps up the noise-rock formula through the addition of orchestral and industrial elements, boosted by confident performances and songwriting. If only Frances Bean would make up with Courtney – they would probably enjoy checking out this band together.” – Dave Cromwell, The Deli Magazine
“Edgy post-mod synthesis that will rock your headphones off.”
Jukebox Heroines
“With their new EP "Bleed Me" the guitar/vocalist and drummer grrrl tandem Clinical Trials steps up the noise-rock formula through the addition of orchestral and industrial elements, boosted by confident performances and songwriting. ...If only Frances Bean would make up with Courtney – they would probably enjoy checking out this band together.”
Dave Cromwell - The Deli Magazine
“Hanging out before the show, in all the nicest ways Somer seemed like a soft-spoken, very pretty indie-rocker of average height. On the small stage, banging on her guitar, wailing into the microphone and rocking fiercely along with the expertly mixed backing tracks, she seemed like a nine-foot tall mythological siren warrior woman. Her voice is neither too rough nor too fragile. It perfectly encompasses and runs the range of joy, pain, rage, frustration, doubt and confidence common in our mutual human experience.
Clinical Trials is an exciting blend of vulnerable emotion and ass-kicking aggression. While projecting a unique style all her own, it’s not hard to imagine Somer as the sonic lovechild of Kurt Cobain and Joan Jett. Somer comes off as smarter, musically leaner and genuinely meaner than loopy Alt-Rock Queen Courtney Love ever has.”
Shawn Evertson - Ghostwood Country Club
"...like Elastica with extra vitriol and a dash of grandeur."
MTV Music Blog
“[Clinical Trials'] new record, Bleed Me, is out this week and it’s a panther; it’s a little dark and dangerous, it stalks and menaces and makes my heart thump that tiny bit faster. This is not glossy music. Bleed Me serves up six tracks ranging from gritty grunge to seductive melodic rock, each radiating raw heat and energy that edges near NSFW.”
Crystal Silvester - Autostraddle
"Dark and mysterious songstress who performs flawlessly using every fiber of her being."
Micki Gamez - 92.3 NOW Blog
"In an endless wave of useless digital ephemera and poppy over produced cliché bands, Somer Bingham and her Clinical Trials stand out for what they are:
Powerful, hungry, dangerous, and above all else, true."
Matthew D'Abate - You're Beautiful, New York
“Antifolk's own Joan Jett, Somer rocks harder than pretty much anyone she shares a bill with.”
Ben Krieger - The Deli Mag
“Well the female duo of Clinical Trials make pretty badass rock music and make it look easy somehow, carrying a volume and depth in their music that earns respect and trumps expectations.
Their sound ranges from soft to loud and urgent at any given moment, ringing true to who they are and not consumed with catering to catchiness. CT’s upbeat, electro-infused songs ask of desires to be granted while darker, intense tracks meets your mind in the place where those desires go astray, keeping a lifeboat in tow. Their music pays homage to their grunge and riot rock predecessors: from a fiery, young Joan Jett and the bravery to bare it in the vein of Nirvana and PJ Harvey — they thankfully take it a step further with confidence to show us the refreshing evolution of where those pioneers have brought us now.”
Just Another Music Blog
