Probably the first thing to really hone in on with this album is the fact that it is a collection of unreleased material and studio demos from back in 2005, namely the 'Searching For A Former Clarity' era of the band. Therefore it's no surprise that the release probably isn't the best launching pad for you if you're looking to listen to the band for the first time - as though the album doesn't hold any bad songs, it doesn't have any utterly amazing material either. But don't be disheartened; as long as you aren't expecting it to be the band's best release yet you will still be in luck.  So although the album may be made up of demos the quality doesn't suffer and the songs certainly don't seem sub standard (as opposed to some "B Sides And Unreleased" collections you can get which feel like they should have STAYED unreleased), making it a good release and a decent album to listen to.

'Total Clarity' then is a collection of heartfelt, driving tunes like 'Exhaustion And Disgust' and 'Unprotected Sex With Multiple Partners', or album opener 'Miami' (which kicks off with guitar that could come straight from a Robert Rodriguez movie) mixed in with faster, punkier songs like 'The Shaker' (which comes off like Against Me! do Agent Orange) and 'The Energizer', to out and out ballads like the tracks 'Joy' and 'Holy Shit' (which actually feel like later day Rancid songs, albeit with the ska influences greatly toned down) to showcase a variety of different song types the band have played with when working on albums.

For an album which is comprised of unreleased material, the mix of different types of songs give the album that exact feel - that it is an album, and not just a quick hash of unused songs. There is even single capability with some of the tracks here, most notably the track 'Money Changes Everything' which boasts a strong combination of charging rhythm with a sing-along chorus to give it an air of radio-capability which further enhances the idea that the release is more a fully fledged album than filler (and it wouldn't be the first non-album to have this kind of standard, just look at say The Wildhearts 'Fishing For Luckies').

Overall 'Total Clarity' then is actually pretty similar in tone and tempo range to the last Rancid release - a sort of hybrid between Punk Rock and Folk, retaining the aggressive vocal and lyrical themes of the former whilst diversifying musically out of the standard Punk Rock fare. This interesting combination gives the sound a unique quality, and makes it worth getting and listening to if you're looking to expand out of Punk By Numbers.

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