Clinic bears an unfortunate, much-mentioned resemblance to the

Beatles—they’re a four-piece band from Liverpool—but the similarities

end there. Where the Beatles specialized in litanies of pop ditties

that metamorphosed into universally-loved opuses, Clinic plays with

proportions to see how many different song recipes you can concoct

with the same basic set of ingredients: distorted surf guitar and an

appreciation for churchy organ and muted metal power riffs, to name a

few biggies. Known for wearing surgical scrubs and masks during

performances (it’s a long-standing tradition), the costumes function

almost as disguises for the foursome, who want to offset the public’s

tendency to worship the singer and ignore the rest of the band.

Clinicians Ade Blackburn, Brian Campbell, Hartley, and Carl Turney

take the democratic approach, constantly swapping instruments and

sharing songwriting duties. And even though the oft-bizarre chord

amalgamations hardly resemble each other, even though the contents of

Do It!, the band’s fifth full-length record, shows the progress the

band’s made in their 11-year evolution, Clinic retains their unique

sound. With Shearwater. Neumo’s, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467. 8 p.m. $13

adv. SARA BRICKNER

Fri., May 16, 8 p.m., 2008