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
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!
― 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
http://www.richarddaviesmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/the-clientele-letter-920x1024.jpg
― dlp9001, Monday, 12 October 2009 03:31 (fourteen years ago) link
I think the bass playing really carries this band.
― Evan, Monday, 12 October 2009 03:48 (fourteen years ago) link
that letter to richard davies is astonishing. more astonishing is the fact that richard davies appears to still be alive.
― dr. johnson (askance johnson), Monday, 12 October 2009 04:13 (fourteen years ago) link
my fiancee sorta knows these guys IRL. i think they're pretty fantastic though i don't know much beyond 'strange geometry'.
― omar little, Monday, 12 October 2009 05:54 (fourteen years ago) link
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.
― dlp9001, Monday, 12 October 2009 06:34 (fourteen years ago) link
the original opening sentence in the letter had all sorts of references to puddles and bicycles and balloons but it just didn't flow.
― Cunga, Monday, 12 October 2009 07:33 (fourteen years ago) link
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!
― koogs, Monday, 12 October 2009 12:02 (fourteen years ago) link
I love Bonfires On The Heath, better than God Save The Clientele... Perhaps it's the same level as 'Strange Geometry' was.
― zeus, Monday, 19 October 2009 15:53 (fourteen years ago) link
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.
― alex in mainhattan, Monday, 19 October 2009 16:20 (fourteen years ago) link
at least seven
― alex in mainhattan, Monday, 19 October 2009 16:22 (fourteen years ago) link
Bonfires On The Heath completes a nearly-flawless run of five albums.
― Daniel, Esq., Wednesday, 21 October 2009 09:56 (fourteen years ago) link
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.
― cw, Thursday, 5 November 2009 22:38 (fourteen years ago) link
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.
― tylerw, Sunday, 15 November 2009 23:36 (fourteen years ago) link
New album is kinda disappointing.
― keythhtyek, Monday, 16 November 2009 04:59 (fourteen years ago) link
That's been the mini-review for every album since the Violet Hour.
― Cunga, Monday, 16 November 2009 05:07 (fourteen years ago) link
finally heard the newie.. it's good, inasmuch as the sound is there and the quality is consistent, but tbh it does feel like treading water. if this is indeed their last album it's certainly not a bad note to go out on, and probably the right one.
― electrical audio's sm57 (electricsound), Wednesday, 2 December 2009 22:28 (fourteen years ago) link
i'm loving this record ...
― tylerw, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 22:33 (fourteen years ago) link
never paid much attention before to this brian o'shaughnessy chap who produced the last few clientele records and am surprised and rather pleased to see he's produced a shitload of stuff i like..
― electrical audio's sm57 (electricsound), Wednesday, 2 December 2009 22:48 (fourteen years ago) link
it's their last album?
― akm, Thursday, 3 December 2009 06:00 (fourteen years ago) link
they kind of hinted it would be unless it goes triple platinum.
― cw, Saturday, 5 December 2009 20:25 (fourteen years ago) link
what i'd kind of be interested in if they wanted to shake their sound up a little is a more guitar-heavy kind of thing -- i love the rare occasions when alasdair lets loose with a psychedelic guitar solo ... maybe that's just me ...
― tylerw, Saturday, 5 December 2009 20:31 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah i love it when alasdair does that too. it happens live quite a bit, wish they would do more of that on their records.
― oscar, Saturday, 5 December 2009 21:11 (fourteen years ago) link
two acoustic gigs tomorrow:http://www.theclienteleforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=160&sid=dd369aa0e556d3015c19847011eedb8a
― koogs, Saturday, 5 December 2009 22:22 (fourteen years ago) link
they better tour the US again before they break up, I've had to miss them every time they've been here.
― akm, Sunday, 6 December 2009 02:03 (fourteen years ago) link
That "we're going to break-up" line sounded fairly noncommittal to me. Maybe I'm hearing what I want to hear.
I hope they stay together. Best since The Smiths? Hard to say. But what a band.
― Daniel, Esq., Sunday, 6 December 2009 02:10 (fourteen years ago) link
" hope they stay together "
i think an Alasdair solo career/in different, new band could be great change too.
― Zeno, Sunday, 6 December 2009 02:18 (fourteen years 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