The Clientele - Best Band Since The Smiths

Not sure that's right... That means that a few people really appreciate them. They should be much bigger than they are, I think.

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?

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.

Also note that Graham was once an ilxor.

lots of former ilxors... where are they now?...

also note that alasdair was once an ilxor.

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.

as i recall, he was fairly active here for a bit. ca. 2001.

No, it wasn't just one post by any means; we also debated Derrida / Paul de Man / Rudolph Gasché once, for instance.

hi pinefox.

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.

i have all their early 7"s, I wish they were bigger than they are so I could sell them and buy a house

One of them's on the MySpace page: "Share the Night". It is great, but it's in no way like the Ariadne stuff.

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.

Yeah, I kind of think that they've done that... Really well, but better to change than keep on pumping out the same records.

Just you wait -- the third album will be nothing but bad reggae and refried boogie and be produced by Glen Ballard.

well thank god this didn't come true!

New album tentatively coming out in October. Sounds like it might be their last.

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.

The interview makes the record sound extremely promising.

"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

...seeing them love made it clearer, to me at least.

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.

Since K Got Over Me is one I listen to frequently. Well, listen frequently to many of their tunes.

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?

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.

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..

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.

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.

Yeah, they're still my uncontested favorites.

Excited for this disc tomorrow.

ah, forgot about this. i was just given an itunes gift certificate and wasn't sure what to get. now I know!

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.

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

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.

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!

http://www.richarddaviesmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/the-clientele-letter-920x1024.jpg

I think the bass playing really carries this band.

that letter to richard davies is astonishing. more astonishing is the fact that richard davies appears to still be alive.

my fiancee sorta knows these guys IRL. i think they're pretty fantastic though i don't know much beyond 'strange geometry'.

My two favorite things about the letter are:

1. Even in Alasdair's letters it's raining. Truly, the man knows no hot summer days.

2. The deft way in which he leaves open the possibility that he didn't like Barbarians.

the original opening sentence in the letter had all sorts of references to puddles and bicycles and balloons but it just didn't flow.

saw alasdair yesterday in his amor de dias incarnation and they were probably the quietest band i've ever heard.

also this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo_Gabba_Gabba!

I love Bonfires On The Heath, better than God Save The Clientele... Perhaps it's the same level as 'Strange Geometry' was.

i did them injustice seven years ago. it must have been the singer's soft voice which didn't appeal to my younger self. or maybe i confused them with another band. i have eight songs by them on my ipod and at seven of them are good. their music evokes three notions in me. the expression "it is raining cats and dogs", the buzzcocks title "harmony in my head" and a fairy tale in a forest with a rainbow rising over the trees of a clearing.

at least seven

Bonfires On The Heath completes a nearly-flawless run of five albums.

it is a real beauty. i have this and the new espers lp on my shuffle and they compliment each other perfectly for droney autumnal rambles. it does remind me of the violet hour in tone more than any of their other efforts, only with added disquiet and creepiness. and less hiss.

solo session on wfmu: http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2009/11/alasdair-maclean-of-the-clientele.html#more sounds lovely. w/o the rest of the band his guitar sounds quite Robyn Hitchcock-esque in parts.

New album is kinda disappointing.

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!

I was out of town and missed their dc gig, but 2 folks who I know who attended, enjoyed the gig

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.

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

they missed flyover space, i'd enjoy seeing alisdair verlaine. glad they're goin' around tho

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!)

Looking forward to seeing them in SF on the 20th.

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.

Paris tonight! In a boat on the Seine. I’m looking forward to it a lot.

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.

sounds amazing! I'm sad I missed their US tour recently but I was moving house that week

I have never cared for this band but the new album knocked me out.

they played the House Always Wins!

Did they? I haven’t seen that for a while, glad it’s still in rotation

haha wait weren't you there? in paris?

They didn’t play THAW last night - I’d have noticed, it’s my favourite!

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!

Yeah I’m absolutely certain that’s wrong

that's really harshing my vicarious enjoyment of the show!

No! It was really good!

this is clearly doing it wrong but my perfect IANTA album (more like an EP this way) playlist goes:

Lady Grey
Conjuring Summer In
Blue Over Blue
Claire's Not Real
Chalk Flowers
Hey 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

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.