This Radiohead-approved quartet from Liverpool, England, is nearly as famous for the surgical garb they wear onstage as they are for their music. In five years, they’ve gone from making fidgety indie-rock to specializing in malevolent mood pieces spiked with unrock-like instruments such as melodica and clarinet. “Winchester Cathedral” tries to expand the scope of their second album, “Walking With Thee” (2002), but only slightly. Ade Blackburn’s teeth-clenched vocals are buried deep in the mix, and the band once again proves expert at distilling high-tension atmosphere that only occasionally breaks into a roar. The doo-wop vocal melancholy of “Falstaff” and the klezmer-inflected sway of “August” strive to shake up the formula, but only suggest that Clinic’s most arresting work is behind it.
