I can't take credit for The Smiths/Clientele thread, though I'd almost say I agree with its premise, as long as The Clientele continue down the path highlighted by the Suburban Light collection. I'm not too eloquent this morning, so I hope this next part makes sense… a decent sized group of fans/critics see The Smiths as being among the last of the truly great rock bands, and I frequently find it hard to disagree. (Though I sometimes think a case can be made for The Stone Roses simply on the strength of their debut album, and then there’s My Bloody Valentine) While The Clientele don't seem to have the truly magic energy The Smiths had when they started out, I'm reserving a possible place for them amongst my favorite bands and hoping they continue to release excellent singles/EPs. I'm not sure why some people on ILM have lumped The Clientele in with Belle & Sebastian... it seems too early for a backlash. I’m guessing it’s either not their cup of tea altogether (they can’t give in to quaint charm) or they just haven’t played Suburban Light enough times; I’ll admit that I thought it was near rubbish (like Alex) at first as well, but now it’s one of the most cherished pieces of my CD collection. Still, if The Clientele start passing the mic to every band member and every family member and every distant cousin like B & S, then I'll join the backlash. As of now, I'm happy to have them and I'm enthused by their promise.
I love The Clientele! <-- Using the exclamation point specified in the subject.
― Tim DiGravina, Friday, 22 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Just you wait -- the third album will be nothing but bad reggae and refried boogie and be produced by Glen Ballard.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 22 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Graham, Friday, 22 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
<--I hope the italics worked. If not, it's a Ned Raggett quote.
Well, I'll take the bad reggae and refriend boogie as long as the sleeve is pretty. It's too early in the morning for me to deal with a Glen Ballard reference... but I will say this... my breakfast has returned to its plate in a more liquid form.
― g, Friday, 22 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Sterling Clover, Friday, 22 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I can't believe this thread has been asleep for 6 years! haven't you people heard God Save The Clientele? it's really really good! "Bookshop Casanova" is some kind of sleepy-eyed disco masterpiece, no? The guitar solo is sooo Santana, duh.
― uncannydan, Thursday, 7 August 2008 08:37 (fifteen years ago) link
There have been other Clientele threads in the last six years.
― Scik Mouthy, Thursday, 7 August 2008 08:41 (fifteen years ago) link
For instance - God Save The Clientele - The anticipation thread
― Scik Mouthy, Thursday, 7 August 2008 08:42 (fifteen years ago) link
My mistake, I must have glanced over in the search. Looks like I have some reading to do...
― uncannydan, Thursday, 7 August 2008 08:49 (fifteen years ago) link
But your underlying point is right: The Clientele are great (and underappreciated). MacLean is also a very good guitarist, I think.
― Daniel, Esq., Thursday, 7 August 2008 11:00 (fifteen years ago) link
I don't really think they are underappreciated, considering that certain people follow them around the world on tour as if they were Manchester United or Exeter City.
― the pinefox, Thursday, 7 August 2008 11:02 (fifteen years ago) link
Not sure that's right... That means that a few people really appreciate them. They should be much bigger than they are, I think.
― Keith, Thursday, 7 August 2008 11:06 (fifteen years ago) link
i was just going to revive a clientele thread. "strange geometry" is my favorite lp of theirs. the last time i posted on them, "violet hour" had just come out and i was underwhelmed.
btw when did they get a gorgeous violin player?
― amateurist, Thursday, 7 August 2008 11:09 (fifteen years ago) link
also note that alasdair was once an ilxor.
I'd never heard of them until I went through Southall's Best of '07 list on Amazon. I bought it based on that recommendation and yeah, it's a very good album.
― nate woolls, Thursday, 7 August 2008 11:11 (fifteen years ago) link
Also note that Graham was once an ilxor.
― the pinefox, Thursday, 7 August 2008 11:18 (fifteen years ago) link
lots of former ilxors... where are they now?...
― amateurist, Thursday, 7 August 2008 11:20 (fifteen years ago) link
I remember reading about that on another thread. But wasn't it just one post by him (e.g., a response to another ILX'or commenting on The Clientele)?
The new violin player joined the band just before God Save The Clientele was recorded, I think. And yeah, she is hot.
― Daniel, Esq., Thursday, 7 August 2008 11:22 (fifteen years ago) link
as i recall, he was fairly active here for a bit. ca. 2001.
― amateurist, Thursday, 7 August 2008 11:32 (fifteen years ago) link
No, it wasn't just one post by any means; we also debated Derrida / Paul de Man / Rudolph Gasché once, for instance.
― the pinefox, Thursday, 7 August 2008 11:33 (fifteen years ago) link
hi pinefox.
― amateurist, Thursday, 7 August 2008 11:35 (fifteen years ago) link
Their new Acuarela ep has been delayed for a month or so now, I really liked the droney tracks on the previous Adriane ep & hope they've done a few more.
― zaxxon25, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:05 (fifteen years ago) link
i have all their early 7"s, I wish they were bigger than they are so I could sell them and buy a house
― akm, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:09 (fifteen years ago) link
One of them's on the MySpace page: "Share the Night". It is great, but it's in no way like the Ariadne stuff.
― Keith, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:10 (fifteen years ago) link
Good song! But as they become more upbeat and clear, they do lose something essential (that hazy charm of their early records). Still, they've got to grow, and they are still a special band.
― Daniel, Esq., Thursday, 7 August 2008 19:11 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, I kind of think that they've done that... Really well, but better to change than keep on pumping out the same records.
― Keith, Thursday, 7 August 2008 19:59 (fifteen years ago) link
well thank god this didn't come true!
― stephen, Saturday, 9 August 2008 15:47 (fifteen years ago) link
New album tentatively coming out in October. Sounds like it might be their last.
― Daniel, Esq., Tuesday, 12 May 2009 07:35 (fourteen years ago) link
― even corpse management will be at risk (Drugs A. Money), Tuesday, 12 May 2009 15:27 (fourteen years ago) link
I'll be bummed if they break-up after the next album. Feels like they had plenty of room to develop their sound, without losing what makes them special and charming.
― Daniel, Esq., Tuesday, 12 May 2009 15:36 (fourteen years ago) link
The interview makes the record sound extremely promising.
― Simon H., Tuesday, 12 May 2009 15:46 (fourteen years ago) link
"Sounds like it might be their last."
it's only "might", so ill stay poisitive bout it.
The only Clientele record i return to is Geomatry,really.great piece of music.also, alsadir is underrated guitarist
― Zeno, Tuesday, 12 May 2009 16:04 (fourteen years ago) link
...seeing them love made it clearer, to me at least.
― Zeno, Tuesday, 12 May 2009 16:08 (fourteen years ago) link
The only Clientele record i return to is Geomatry,really.great piece of music. also, alsadir is underrated guitarist
Cosign. I return to all their discs, actually. Losing Haringey (from Geometry, I think) is one of my favorite songs of the past few years.
― Daniel, Esq., Tuesday, 12 May 2009 16:43 (fourteen years ago) link
Since K Got Over Me is one I listen to frequently. Well, listen frequently to many of their tunes.
― that's not my post, Wednesday, 13 May 2009 05:23 (fourteen years ago) link
Alasdair MacLean: We finished mixing. We started recording in that really quiet period between Christmas and the New Year because we wanted to capture a deadening, spectral ambiance.
Ooh, wonderful - though why does Alasdair still look like a young Christopher Hitchens? And didn't he used to post here?
― Cunga, Wednesday, 13 May 2009 06:32 (fourteen years ago) link
the new album has leaked, I was under the impression that it was meant to be a departure from the last couple but it isn't really. It's got similar bits to the last couple, not much from 'the violet hour' in it. not sure it is that great at the moment but I have only listened once.
― keythkeythkeyth, Monday, 7 September 2009 20:28 (fourteen years ago) link
they are getting more and more a regular Belle and Sebastian twee style band, and less and less the original,mysterious heartbreaking band they used to be.maybe a break-up IS the right step for them after all..
― Zeno, Monday, 7 September 2009 21:06 (fourteen years ago) link
It's a strange album. I was also expecting something more along the lines of the Violet Hour from how it's been talked about in interviews with the band, but it's much more a continuation of the last two albums. I still wouldn't say they're anything approaching twee!
Still, their albums always need time to sink in before I know what I really think.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Monday, 7 September 2009 21:20 (fourteen years ago) link
they are getting more and more a regular Belle and Sebastian twee style band
Only to a very minor extent. The heartbreaking closer to the last album (Dreams Of Leaving) is quiet, but hardly like Belle & Sebastian. And the lead singer is still a great, fluid guitarist. But I'm bias. I love this band, and I'll probably overlook their occasional missteps.
― Daniel, Esq., Monday, 7 September 2009 21:21 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah, they're still my uncontested favorites.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Monday, 7 September 2009 21:31 (fourteen years ago) link
Excited for this disc tomorrow.
― Daniel, Esq., Monday, 5 October 2009 19:25 (fourteen years ago) link
ah, forgot about this. i was just given an itunes gift certificate and wasn't sure what to get. now I know!
― tylerw, Monday, 5 October 2009 19:29 (fourteen years ago) link
BTW, I don't think this band gets enough credit for evolving their sound. Like R.E.M., their early albums were covered in a production haze and the songs were painfully humble; gradually, the albums became more clear and distinct, and the songs became more robust and confident. Then they added new moods and textures (especially on God Save The Clientele, which was much happier, in places, than they'd been before, and which had a broader range of instrumentation).
But even if they stayed with the same sound and didn't evolove at all, I'd be okay with it, so long as they continue working in that particularly wistful, nostalgic vein.
― Daniel, Esq., Monday, 5 October 2009 19:35 (fourteen years ago) link
i agree this band is probably a textbook example of how to successfully evolve a sound without alienating one's audience.. while i'm sure there's someone who prefers their earlier, lo fi reverb soaked days, it's not a complaint i've actually heard levelled against them
― i'm the unban spaceman (electricsound), Monday, 5 October 2009 22:13 (fourteen years ago) link
There's even more progression of their sound on the new disc, e.g., less string arrangements, more prominent use of horns, a Latin-flavor to some of the guitar work, their nosiest song ever (Sketch), and some of their best, clearest vocal harmonies ever.
It's another lovely autumn album.
― Daniel, Esq., Monday, 12 October 2009 01:47 (fourteen years ago) link
their nosiest song ever
I love the heck out of The Clientele, but sometimes I wish their tunes would just mind their own damn business!
― & other try hard shitfests (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 12 October 2009 03:26 (fourteen years ago) link
All the positive reactions are encouraging me to spend more time with this. The last album was so instant and is one of my favourite albums of theirs. I'm hoping this one grows on me.
― kitchen person, Friday, 28 July 2023 13:59 (nine months ago) link
It's funny because the last album ended up being my least favorite! It felt like a (relative) lack of inspired musical ideas with overly busy production garnish to compensate. Like just-OK ice cream base layer with overly rich syrup and sprinkles etc. Ends up being a "bit much" and sort of underwhelming all at once. I'm trying too hard to describe it perfectly and in doing so makes me sound more negative than intended probably... because I still like it! Just not as much as most of the rest of the discography.
New one sounded really cohesive - ambitious but in a way that felt more successful and immersive to me! Really into it.
― But his face would not turn into hot Kirby (Evan), Friday, 28 July 2023 14:43 (nine months ago) link
xpost i my initial view on the last album was relatively negative but after listening to it a few more times over the years i came round to really loving about half the songs.
looking forward to spending time with the new one.
― that's not my post, Friday, 28 July 2023 17:45 (nine months ago) link
Age of Miracles had like four top-tier Clientele songs... Everyone You Meet, Lunar Days, Falling Asleep, Age of Miracles! Maybe it's time to poll the Clientele?
So far this one seems like a sprawling version of the Ariadne EP (which has the earlier, superior version of Impossible)
― the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Friday, 28 July 2023 21:26 (nine months ago) link
I was prepared to hate this based on one of the advance singles and some of what you all were posting (even the complimentary comments had me a little worried). But actually it was pretty good on first listen. It meanders in a way I don't really think other Clientele albums do and I'm not sure how that will feel after multiple listens, but at least the first time through I enjoyed the wax/wane pacing.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Friday, 28 July 2023 23:41 (nine months ago) link
Enjoying this also (from a similarly skeptical starting point)… reminds me of Performance somehow - viz hippy-era eclecticism but also the sense of a big rambling house full of different vibes… man…
― meat and two vdgg (emsworth), Friday, 28 July 2023 23:48 (nine months ago) link
the last album ended up being my least favorite! It felt like a (relative) lack of inspired musical ideas with overly busy production garnish to compensate
this is too harsh
but I agree with the sentiment
― corrs unplugged, Saturday, 29 July 2023 21:49 (nine months ago) link
I tried to disclaimer that it sounded harsher than I meant for it to...
― But his face would not turn into hot Kirby (Evan), Saturday, 29 July 2023 23:28 (nine months ago) link
Gee, the not-a-song-per-se tracks are frequently quite spiffy.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Saturday, 29 July 2023 23:53 (nine months ago) link
they've always had good interstitals
― the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Sunday, 30 July 2023 00:52 (nine months ago) link
missing an i in there somewhere
― the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Sunday, 30 July 2023 00:53 (nine months ago) link
Yeah, true. This time part of me wants an entire LP along the lines of "My Childhood"/"The Village is Always On Fire" etc. Perhaps in a Julian House sleeve!
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Sunday, 30 July 2023 02:12 (nine months ago) link
I think this is one of those albums where you can Remove one song from an almost perfect album to make it a perfect album maybe several
but maybe that's why it's great
an album can't be a 10 if it doesn't have skips. means they weren't taking enough risks― flopson, 8. august 2023 22:43
― flopson, 8. august 2023 22:43
see also voodoo chili's upcoming treatise "in defense of skips"
― corrs unplugged, Wednesday, 9 August 2023 11:49 (eight months ago) link
The Clientele have a new podcast... https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-clientele-podcast/id1698656005
― that's not my post, Monday, 14 August 2023 14:44 (eight months ago) link
For no good reason at all this has been one of those in one ear, out the other bands for me, but I'll be seeing them tonight!
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 15 August 2023 22:39 (eight months ago) link
I was out of town and missed their dc gig, but 2 folks who I know who attended, enjoyed the gig
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 16 August 2023 01:36 (eight months ago) link
Really pleasing set, short and sweet, like one long suite with a bunch of lovely movements (that I immediately forgot as I heard them, lol). Alasdair is an endearingly fussy guitarist, love his refusal to use obvious chords. There was one song where he totally (and recognizably, so intentionally) went all "Marquee Moon." Was there with a friend that knows the group so got to say hi at the end of the night. Nice crowd turnout.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 16 August 2023 13:26 (eight months ago) link
Would love to see them but don't think I'll be able to make any of the European cities
Happy all the same that they are performing and that they're great as always
― corrs unplugged, Wednesday, 16 August 2023 13:39 (eight months ago) link
they missed flyover space, i'd enjoy seeing alisdair verlaine. glad they're goin' around tho
― juan epshteyn-- r.i.c.o., but suave tambien (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 16 August 2023 14:14 (eight months ago) link
got tickets for some of the east coast shows but couldn't make it (not for unhappy reasons though... I bought a new house and had to move that weekend!)
― the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Wednesday, 16 August 2023 14:28 (eight months ago) link
Looking forward to seeing them in SF on the 20th.
― that's not my post, Wednesday, 16 August 2023 15:02 (eight months ago) link
Saw them play in Seattle last night, they were great. They did a long version of Lamplight with the Marquee Moon interlude that Josh mentioned upthread. The (three or four) new songs they played sounded really good. Alasdair mentioned they had not yet played Blue Over Blue without messing it up, but they seemed to get through it without a hitch.
― kmhydex, Friday, 25 August 2023 04:58 (eight months ago) link
Paris tonight! In a boat on the Seine. I’m looking forward to it a lot.
― Tim, Sunday, 1 October 2023 17:29 (seven months ago) link
I was undisapponted, and I was not alone in that. Three encores and some disgruntlement that there wasn’t a fourth. They played “A Picture of Dorian Gray” in the final encore, I haven’t heard them play that one in a very long time.
― Tim, Monday, 2 October 2023 14:23 (seven months ago) link
sounds amazing! I'm sad I missed their US tour recently but I was moving house that week
― the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Monday, 2 October 2023 14:28 (seven months ago) link
I have never cared for this band but the new album knocked me out.
― Indexed, Monday, 2 October 2023 15:32 (seven months ago) link
they played the House Always Wins!
― the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Monday, 2 October 2023 15:47 (seven months ago) link
Did they? I haven’t seen that for a while, glad it’s still in rotation
― Tim, Monday, 2 October 2023 18:01 (seven months ago) link
haha wait weren't you there? in paris?
― the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Monday, 2 October 2023 18:05 (seven months ago) link
They didn’t play THAW last night - I’d have noticed, it’s my favourite!
― Tim, Monday, 2 October 2023 18:11 (seven months ago) link
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-clientele/2023/petit-bain-paris-france-3ba33868.html
I was working off this posted setlist but maybe it's just wrong!
― the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Monday, 2 October 2023 18:27 (seven months ago) link
Yeah I’m absolutely certain that’s wrong
― Tim, Monday, 2 October 2023 18:33 (seven months ago) link
that's really harshing my vicarious enjoyment of the show!
― the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Monday, 2 October 2023 18:38 (seven months ago) link
No! It was really good!
― Tim, Monday, 2 October 2023 19:00 (seven months ago) link
this is clearly doing it wrong but my perfect IANTA album (more like an EP this way) playlist goes:
Lady GreyConjuring Summer InBlue Over BlueClaire's Not RealChalk FlowersHey Siobhan Through the Roses
might poll Lady Grey vs. Claire's Not Real vs. Hey Siobhan
results might reflect Strange Geometry vs. God Save the Clientele vs. Suburban Light
― corrs unplugged, Wednesday, 22 November 2023 13:42 (five months ago) link
Really good in London tonight, including a cellist (worked especially well on The Age of Miracles, I thought, and the extra-extra-long Lamplight) and a special guest appearance from Mel! Pleasure to see her onstage with them again.
― Tim, Friday, 19 January 2024 23:29 (three months ago) link