The Clientele - Albums Collection 2000-2007 (4CD)

×

The Clientele - Albums Collection 2000-2007 (4CD)

Close

Retrofitted pop band the Clientele had obvious roots in the hazy, autumnal glare of Galaxie 500 and Felt. Just as those bands took their Velvet Underground and Television records to heart without being derivative, the Clientele were able to chalk up an extensive discography riddled with lush melodies of their own without sounding like a tribute band. Think of your favorite '60s pop band and odds are they're in the Clientele's blood.

A Fading SummerThe London-based band formed in mid-1997, consisting of Alasdair MacLean (guitar and vocals), Innes Phillips (guitar and vocals), James Hornsey (bass), and Howard (drums). Mark Keen replaced the academically occupied Howard toward the end of 1999; Phillips left early on to form the Relict, a group with a varied membership that has occasionally included Clientele members. After debuting on the Fierce Panda label's Cry Me a Liver compilation, the Clientele released a slew of singles, compilation contributions, and EPs in short order. Most significantly, March released A Fading Summer in 2000, an EP that harvested some of the band's hard-to-find singles and a couple new recordings. Later that year, the full-length Suburban Light (another compilation of previously recorded material) was issued by Pointy.
Lost WeekendThe band hooked up with Merge in early 2001, which issued Suburban Light in the U.S. months later. The Lost Weekend EP came out on Acuarela in 2002, which was followed a year later by their first proper album and Merge debut, The Violet Hour. Strange Geometry arrived in 2005, and in 2006 the band added keyboardist/violinist/percussionist Mel Draisey to its ranks. God Save the Clientele, which featured production by Mark Nevers of the band's U.S. labelmates Lambchop, was released in spring 2007. Bonfires on the Heath, another release for Merge, was issued during fall 2009. The Minotaur EP, which followed in August of 2010, was made up of songs recorded during the sessions for Bonfires on the Heath.

Despite the Clientele's claims of giving up touring after their worldwide jaunt promoting Bonfires, they returned to the U.S. for live dates after the EP's release. Soon after these dates, however, the group members announced they were going on indefinite hiatus. MacLean formed a new band called Amor de Dias, and the rest went their separate ways until re-forming (minus Draisey) to play a one-off show in 2013 at the Pop Revo Festival in Denmark. Things remained quiet on the recording front, and the band surprised many fans by scheduling a U.S. tour in early 2014 to coincide with Merge's 25th birthday festivities and the deluxe reissue of Suburban Light. The release of the career retrospective Alone & Unreal: The Best of the Clientele in September of 2015 provided the band another excuse to play a live show, while MacLean set fans' hearts aflutter by sharing the news in an interview that the band had one side of a new album finished. Indeed, MacLean had been working with an old friend, Anthony Harmer, on new songs, with MacLean coming up with words and music and Harmer working out arrangements. Hornsey and Keen soon joined them and the band went to work on their fifth album and first in seven years. 2017's Music for the Age of Miracles featured the core trio plus Harmer on guitars, vocals, keyboards, saz, and santoor (an Iranian string instrument) with a guest appearance by harpist Mary Lattimore. The album was released by Merge and Tapete in September of 2017.

Andy Kellman, Allmusic.com

×

The Clientele - Albums Collection 2000-2007 (4CD)

Close

×

The Clientele - Albums Collection 2000-2007 (4CD)

Close

Even as the Clientele's hazy, soft-focus indie pop suggests the influence of virtually every musical ancestor worth acknowledging, the band's pastoral beauty nevertheless conjures a dreamscape entirely its own; fusing the heady otherness of psychedelia with the gentle caress of folk, Suburban Light swirls and settles like gold dust. Like the artist Joseph Cornell, the titular subject of one of the disc's most memorable songs, the Clientele assemble and juxtapose found fragments (collected from forebears like Love, Nick Drake, and Donovan) and transform their source materials into something magical and new; although the record's 13 cuts assemble various singles and scattered recordings, the finished product hangs together with a clear sense of purpose and scope. While Alasdair MacLean's plain-spoken, heartfelt vocals and subtle guitar arpeggios are the focus of the record, it's impossible to underrate the thoughtful, always supportive bass playing of James Hornsey and drummers Daniel Evans and Howard Monk. Together they create a haunting, poetic, and rich sound that's unlike any indie pop being created by their contemporaries. Suburban Light is a brilliant introduction to the band, and over repeated listens, the songs grow both more distinctive and more interconnected, boasting a richly nuanced intricacy as intoxicating as it is elusive.

Review by Jason Ankeny, Allmusic.com

×

The Clientele - Albums Collection 2000-2007 (4CD)

Close

In some ways, it's hard to believe that The Violet Hour is the Clientele's first proper full-length album. The band has released so many lovely singles and EPs in the five years prior to this album that it seems like a full-length release must have come out a few years ago (2001's singles collection Suburban Light doesn't count). The wait was well worth it, though; The Violet Hour not only perfects the gorgeously hazy pop of their previous releases, it also adds a guileless freshness to it that is completely apt for their debut album. As with most of their other work, in The Violet Hour's world it's always summer, and usually sunset; instantly nostalgic, poignant tunes such as "Voices in the Mall" and "Everybody's Gone" capture the dusky side of summer perfectly. Indeed, most of the album reflects – and radiates – warmth, from its generally languid mood to the way its songs blend into each other like slow-flowing honey. Alasdair MacLean's whispery vocals are drenched in faraway reverb, and, along with the band's sleepy guitars and understated drums, creates such an exquisite ambience that the album's unhurried tempos and melodies never sound boring. While "The Violet Hour" and "House on Fire" breeze along on slightly livelier tempos, and "The House Always Wins" ignites into the Clientele's version of rock, none of these songs break the spell that is cast by "When You and I Were Young," "Lamplight," and "Haunted Melody"; and that spell is deepened by the chiming bells that punctuate the album. With so much going on musically, The Violet Hour doesn't even need meaningful lyrics, but it delivers those too, especially on "Missing," where MacLean sighs, "I've got so much longing in my heart that I can't even sleep" with such sweetly quiet resignation that it's breathtaking, once you hear it. It's true that the Clientele's influences still shine through in their music, yet the band doesn't sound derivative; by not trying to overtly rework their sound or hide their roots, they allow themselves – and their listeners – to just revel in the beauty of their music. So, while The Violet Hour doesn't offer anything different from the Clientele's previous work, it does offer more of it, and that is a wonderful thing.

Review by Heather Phares, Allmusic.com

×

The Clientele - Albums Collection 2000-2007 (4CD)

Close

Rebounding after the ever-so-slightly samey feel of The Violet Hour, Strange Geometry reinvigorates the Clientele's literate, wistful indie pop with fresh doses of emotion, invention, and wit. As the Arthur Machen quote in the album's liner notes suggests, Strange Geometry is as much about London as it is about introspection and lost love: virtually every song on the album makes characters out of the tenement lines, gardens, trees, streets, and buildings that make up the city. In fact, these songs are so thematically tight that they resemble a collection of poems and short stories set to music, particularly on the largely spoken word "Losing Haringey," a breakup note to London with wonderfully evocative lyrics like "I was in an underexposed photo of 1982." All kinds of clever and experimental details decorate Strange Geometry, from the distant, operatic vocals that introduce "K" to the guitar melody that quotes the Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me" on "Since K Got Over Me." Fortunately, though, these extra bursts of creativity don't distract from the essential beauty of these songs. On both livelier tracks like "My Own Face Inside the Trees" and "E.M.P.T.Y." (which boasts bubblegum-psych string flourishes and fuzzy guitars) and immaculately groomed ballads like the soft, sweet sadness of "(I Can't Seem To) Make You Mine" and "Step into the Light," the Clientele have rarely sounded better. Despite a few sleepy moments on the album's second half, Strange Geometry has more flair and movement than Violet Hour, and perfects the band's ability to be uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time.

Review by Heather Phares, Allmusic.com

×

The Clientele - Albums Collection 2000-2007 (4CD)

Close

The Clientele's third full-length LP finds the band riding the wave of beauty and inspiration that made Strange Geometry one of the most impressive records of 2005. As is their style, the group has made no radical changes to their sound or approach; Alasdair MacLean still sings in a heartbreakingly honest and sweet voice, the band is as restrained and thoughtful as ever, the strings that dot the songs like floating tufts of cotton candy are again arranged by Louis Philippe, and the songs are predictably haunting and heartwarming. Even the changes the group made haven't really changed anything. God Save the Clientele was recorded in Nashville with Lambchop's Mark Nevers at the helm, and with help from Autumn Defense member Pat Sansone, one might expect a more Americanized sound, but with the exception of a pedal steel here and there, the band still magically conjures up autumn walks through rainy London back streets or, even better, languid late summer days spent drifting through the English countryside. Nevers does get a slightly cleaner sound, cutting the reverb down noticeably, but without any ill effects. The addition of Mel Draisey on keyboards, violin, and backing vocals hasn't changed much for the group either, as she's only on about half the tracks and her contributions are pleasingly subtle. Apart from the talk of changes or lack thereof, what you get with God Save the Clientele is a stunning batch of songs that will break your heart, pump it back full of life, and send you off to dreamland with a warm feeling filling your soul. From bouncy summery tunes like "Here Comes the Phantom," which opens the album with a burst of joy, to sleepy ballads (the George Harrison-esque "Isn't Life Strange") and trademark midtempo charmers like "From Brighton Beach to Santa Monica," the band has never been as consistently wonderful as on this album. They also carry over the strong sense of dynamics from Strange Geometry and make sure to balance moods and tempos throughout the album; for every languid ballad like "The Queen of Seville" or the achingly beautiful "No Dreams Last Night," there's an uptempo track like "The Garden at Night" (a wild rocker that sounds like the soundtrack to a scene in a '60s film where the straight-laced couple wanders into a hip nightclub by mistake and is accosted by swirling music and a trippy light show) or the more sedate but still rocking "Bookshop Casanova" to match. Every song on the album is near perfect and would sound just right on a mix CD designed to win a heart, cheer up a friend, or simply make you glad to be alive. God Save the Clientele is another stroke of magic from a band that has few peers in delivering music that can make or break your heart with a vocal inflection, swath of strings, or gentle arpeggio, music that can devastate you in one breath and lift you to the heavens with the next. The Clientele are that good and this album ranks with their finest moments.

Review by Tim Sendra, Allmusic.com