C/D: the clientele

I don't know what to call these bands, like the Clientele, from whom you expect very little originality because of their micro-genre, but who make really good music in that micro-genre. I think that by the rules of the game they play the Clientele are a huge success.

Dream gig: Eric Matthews vox + orchestral arrangement + Clientele guitars, drums, bass, production, lyrics

eric matthews dresses nicely.

They're not very similar at all really.

both their full length albums are so fucking beyond classic. im not sure which is better, i'd say a tie. everything is perfect on them. the overall capturing of mood, the lyrics, melody, chord progressions, harmony, bass lines, drums. it is all perfectly composed.

They were much better live than I would have expected. You don't notice on the albums how good a guitar player he is, and likewise the vocal production slightly obscures how good his voice his.
-- dlp9001

i DO notice. he's amazing. I wish they'd come to boston so i could see them.

that said, i was a bit let down by the relict album...

I note that even a thread about Tim H's favourite band hasn't succeeded in making him post here again, sadly.

they sort of skirt the edge of self-parody with all the "mrs jones"/"rain" references. jess and i had a joke going about this once upon a time. jess likes them too.

Not quite - Innes (Relict main man) used to be in The Clientele some years back but not since I've known them ('99). It's true that the rest of The Clientele appear on Relict recordings.

Is it me, or does anyone else think that if someone took out all the upbeat pop songs off their all albums, took the remaining slower, sadder, melodic stuff off (e.g. As Night Is Falling, The Violet Hour, policeman getting lost etc.) and put it all one one album, it would be the best thing ever made? As opposed to just really good, of course.

i don't, but that's because i like the upbeat stuff better

I love virtually everything I've heard from them. CLASSIC.

what is the thing that is coming out on acuarela?

Suburban Light is one of my favorite albums of this decade.

Alright, my above comment was unfair. They have as much good upbeat stuff as slow stuff, and I really really hate to say it but they could have done with taking some of their songs off their albums. That is to say, they could have released some impeccable EP's, rather than really good albums.

Still love them nonetheless. I also thought they were a hip-hop group the first time I heard of them.

The Violet Hour is utterly flawless from start to finish. The only song I could possibly see being taken from it might be House on Fire but even if it seems like it could be removed I suspect the truth is something terrible might happen to that perfect, perfect record if you did.

That's still a good selection. I got Violet Hour late last year without having to pay a crazy amount for it. It's one of those albums that was just made to be played on vinyl.

Oh for sure

http://www.jazzhouse.dk/jazzklub/clientele-uk-1

Copenhagen in August sounds nice.

Copenhagen in August was nice.

ended up giving my tickets to a friend since I had to attend a wedding - but I hear it was nice :')

Consensus among the small collection of regular Clientele show-goers was that it went very well - sorry you missed it Niels. The band seemed to enjoy it also. I had a great time too, always a pleasure to visit Copenhagen.

(Progress towards a new LP also, I hear - apparently the songs are really very good indeed, though they didn't play any new ones this time, largely due to lack of opportunity to rehearse them properly.)

(Fantastic news!)

A new album would be absolutely incredible news.

Alasdair solo in London tomorrow night, I'm looking forward to it: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/360295

Thx for reminder, now I just have to remember it's tomorrow...

(Is John promoting this?)

I'm not sure; I bought tickets.

Same here. We're 14 left, now only 11.

Good! See you there.

I would like to go but considering the time difference I think the show is over already.

You've about 13 hours before it starts, that's still time.

(Although ilm is showing me a GMT time for my post and not a BST time so be careful you're not an hour late.)

Yeah you'll need to get a swerve on though, it's the getting from Heathrow to Kings Cross that'll take the real time.

I'll parachute in to avoid ground transportation issues. Just want to be sure I don't upstage him with the landing.

I'll just try to imagine how great it'll be from way over here in the US

will leave the actual comments on the gig to tim but facebook said 7, we got tickets said 7:30. doors were actually 7:45 and that was followed by 50 minutes of sitting and waiting which is dull if you're there on your own and it's too dark to read...

anyway, he's playing again for Daylight Music at the Union Chapel on Nov 5th. remember, remember...

https://www.facebook.com/events/1200135206704929/

It was delightful, Alasdair playing mostly CLientele songs we're used to hearing at full-band shows, from the slower end of things (Reflections After Jane, Saturday etc, the most upbeat was Since K Got Over Me), one or two we're less used to hearing these days (Bicycles, Bonfires on the Heath, Devil Got My Woman) plus an untitled new one: he didn't announce the title but it sounded like vintage Clientele to me.

Maclean fully reverbed up in an echoey church is a very reverby thing indeed.

We're a couple of covers too. Sid James and durruti column

(Not Sid James.)

Were. Bloody autocorrect.

Are there any other bands that exist that sound anything like the Clientele?

Legit question

I think maybe there's a thread for that? Or it's discussed upthread.

Recently I've gotten a similar vibe from deerhunter's fading frontier

But the short answer is no nothing

There's just nothing quite as sophisticated and tuneful. Melodic indie rock, even the more sonically consistent bands in that category like Real Estate don't seem to have the effortless complexity and even-handedness Clientele has. Everyone else is "trying" in different ways and Clientele never had to in the first place. Their music goes well with similar things in other categories, like charming old houses and pretty gardens, things that are undeniable.

Which Durutti Column song, koogs?

i was going to say Real Estate but their thing is a little different.

> Which Durutti Column song, koogs?

Is there more than one? The guitary one.

(I did recognise it but am terrible with names)

well, it was either the missing boy or the guitary one.

(Devil Got My Woman by Skip James was the other cover btw)

wow, i'd love to hear Alasdair's interpretation of that one!
my band has a song I wrote as a kinda clientele inspired thing, but i'm not sure if it actually comes across that way.

DGMW was on the flip of one of the strange Geometry singles iirc.

The Swedish band Cocoanut Groove had a bit of a Clientele thing going on for a while.

wow, i'd love to hear Alasdair's interpretation of that one!

There's a link to mp3s of a couple versions here that still work.

oh nice, thanks!

kinda jansch-y

I like the dreamy b-side version, but the KEXP one has its appeal too

reminder: alasdair's playing as part of daylight music at the union chapel tomorrow. starts at 12.

http://store.unionchapel.org.uk/about/events/5-nov-16-daylight-music-237-union-chapel/

New album and new song out, which sounds autumnally awesome to me!

http://pitchfork.com/news/the-clientele-announce-first-new-album-in-7-years-share-new-song-listen/?mbid=homepage-more-latest-and-video

aaaaawesome!

That is very exciting news. Love the title and the artwork.

fantastic... hope there is a North American tour with the new album

edit, guess I should have clicked through to the Merge website. Very excited to see that they're coming to the west coast in the fall.

niiiiiice, TO show on Halloween!

album's very good, i <3 "everyone you meet"

Has there been any discussion of the new album since it came out? I like it overall, though even after many listens I'm still having distinguishing songs from each other.

Discussion here:

The Clientele - Best Band Since The Smiths