The Clientele "Strange Geometry" and summer 2005 tour

is that a joke?

-- kyle (akmonda...), August 22nd, 2005 10:30 AM. (akmonday) (later)

It depends, do they sound like Coldplay? I saw some band open for Spoon a few months ago that sounded like Coldplay, and I thought it was the Clientele, but I'm not sure.

I haven't heard this, but they recorded those earlier 'crackly' releases at Soup Studio (with Simon from Tompaulin) where we record our demos. Simon's a lovely guy so I'm always really pleased when people like the clientele. It's massively cheap, but he has loads of gorgeous vintage gear.

It so easy to get lost in them.

I like it more and more, but then I suppose I would. It took me a while to get used to the lightness, which is perhaps the best thing about this LP.

The recent show at Bush Hall in London was perhaps the best I've ever seen them play. Really breathtakingly good, I thought. They seem to be playing all over the place over the next few months, it's all very exciting.

And one day they'll release "Jerry".

The single's probably the exception - "Since K Got Over Me" (i think), - cos it brings a bit more catchy rock. It's really great.

PF I will answer your mail in a moment.

I am being unfair to the gig... I reviewed it for the upcoming issue of The Skinny and gave it 4 stars. uh, let's see...

On their recordings, The Clientele are a band of ache and haze, a shoegazer’s shy dream of rainy London. Imagine my surprise, then, when these songs glittered to life on Friday, shining with an unveiled fervour. While in places things were still gauzey, Alasdair MacLean might suddenly swipe at his electric guitar, the shimmer turning to noise, and his gentle songs would be shot through with flame. On the stand-out single “Since K Got Over Me”, the band sounded almost jaunty – a man that stamps into puddles, kicking up sparkles, instead of just trudging through them. It’s a pity that much of the later gig got lost in the venue, the songs becoming harder and harder to hold on to: the openers chatted away with their friends and The Clientele’s murmurs vanished in the fray.

Heh. I guess my memory of it faded a little too.

Also, the lyrics arent up to par.

I guess i just tend to like them when they're a little more abstract, like on Ariadne, and songs like House on Fire (all of The Violet Hour really).

That said, E.M.P.T.Y. is really great. I love those first few opening seconds. And, Impossible is good. Im not sure whether I like the Ariadne version more or less, but I do like the clarity of this one a lot. It made me appreciate the song more.

Can't wait to see em in november :)

As for America: maybe in the spring?

i think he was just responding to my general sort of claim that I like the previous work more and that they're better when a little more abstract. although i wouldnt classify anything of theirs as being at all like kid A or its departure.

I have received a CD of The Braodcast, an album which includes the song called Papercuts. The circle of life is complete.

The circle of life is complete, again.

Ah! böwakawa troussé, troussé

In order to fully complete that circle of life by Elton John.

-- Tim (hopkinsti...) (webmail), September 19th, 2005 3:34 PM. (Tim)

I pretended it was Jerry the Nipper, for a laugh. It's probably about the trials of some tormented aesthete though.

Yes, we're still talking about Jerry the Nipper here. ;)

Er, "bigger FAN of..."

Definitely agree with all the recommendations so far and feel the same way regarding Clientele often seeming like the only band that provides a particular vibe.

I know they get lumped in with the typical indie-magazine-whooaohohing-landfill-band variety, but honestly Real Estate's "Days" is very close in spirit for me and is one of those records that I feel will stand out for years to come. Atlas is nice too but doesn't achieve the same effortlessness.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I will check out East Village, Arnold, Volebeats.

Gorkys is a really good one that hadn't occurred to me. That might do the trick, but they might be too weird.

Post-Crazy Rhythms Feelies and Real Estate and the little I've heard from Vulgar Boatmen are all some premium soothing jangle pop but somehow don't occupy that Clientele space for me.

I think I should've emphasized the word "acoustic" and the song "K" from Strange Geometry, but I also mean Clientele in general. Like you're making oatmeal for your two-year-old son at 7:30am and you want to put on some music that's soothing and pleasant and appropriate for 7:30am. Field Mice "Willow" and "And Before the First Kiss" are way too dramatic for 7:30am, you know what I mean?

I feel like the best example is Cat Stevens "The Wind" but I probably never need to hear that song again. Maybe Wes Anderson knows the answer.

According to spotify their newest release is 'Gutter Money Entertainment Presents the Clientele'

Spotify really needs to find a way to distinguish between artists of the same name.

Then again I'm not sure I would have caught up with solo Ghostface Killah when I did if "Supreme Clientele" hadn't kept appearing in 'clientele' search results back in the day!

Gorkys is a really good one that hadn't occurred to me. That might do the trick, but they might be too weird.

Give a listen to How I Long To Feel. I'm not big on the weird noisy Gorky's sound. This disc is different. As a consequence some of the folks on the Gorky's boards are pretty dismissive.

I get what you are saying about the Feelies, Vulgar Boatmen and Real Estate. What about Opal? Check out "Early Recordings" which is acoustic based.

Gee, I commented on this thread a DECADE ago. Now that Cat Stevens has come up, I'll reiterate this:

I continue to think of West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band and early Bee Gees

Maybe too obvious, but perhaps early Donovan ("Summer Day Reflection Song" etc, or even "Epistle to Dippy")? Also selected Manfred Mann ("Up the Junction" etc). Was trying to resist mentioning Felt; jangly melancholy, but again straying from 'acoustic' a lot of the time.

there isn't really anything, but you could try the Magical World of the Strands

This is quite interesting:
https://play.spotify.com/user/theclientele/playlist/37WWzvgtvcVhRSMaxFYHlE?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open

Not sure I'd seen an explicit acknowledgement of a Gibb influence before. A *lot* of that seems eminently plausible the moment you read it.

xp wow Willow is such a great Field Mice song but yes can def see how it's maybe not a great way to start the day

Many great suggestions, I guess it also depends on what makes the Clientele great - like, are they supreme British indie/twee/rockers or folk revivalists or... to me the psychedelic folk aspect is probably very important and just did a google and found this list http://www.folkworld.de/50/e/psych.html and without knowing much abt psych folk I think it wld be possible to find some stuff there, like this song for instance

https://youtu.be/maT9bN_4a-s
Mark Fry - Song for Wild

One thing that's almost impossible to find is a singer with as golden a voice as alasdair - closest thing I can think of is Danish singer C.V. Jørgensen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7WoOmeLzDc

the similarity between their voices was maybe part of what got me into Clientele to begin with - at least I remember thinking

about it a lot when I first heard Strange Geometry

i think the cardinal album sounds a bit like strange geometry. you might try Billy Nichols, left banke, early shack (and yeah the strands), Felt, chris cohen's lp from a few years back, Birdie perhaps. When i first heard them they reminded me of buffalo springfield.

Oh man I LOVE that Chris Cohen album. I'd forgotten about it. It does kinda have that Strange Geometry vibe, if a little artier.

I was on the same record label as a UK band called Birdie. I guess it's probably the same one you're talking about.

Cardinal's something I've been letting marinate for about 20 years... maybe I'm ready now. Gotta save some things for when you get old.

So much to explore. Thanks for all the suggestions! That Gorky's album is doing the trick but I was already familiar with it - just had forgotten about it. I had a Felt tape like 18 years ago in high school but I don't think I was ready for it and never really circled back to them. I'm really enjoying it but it doesn't hit the Clientele vibe for me.