C/D: the clientele

for the quietest band on earth, i found this too loud (had only ever heard them unamplified before). the string sound was a bit harsh.

that said, they played in front of this and this

http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portraitLarge/mw00166/The-Somerset-House-Conference-1604
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portraitLarge/mw02079/Queen-Elizabeth-I-The-Ditchley-portrait

400 years old...

they play again tonight at the bull and gate - http://www.clubfandango.co.uk/gig.php?id=2062

bit of a comedown... 8)

that show tonight was supposed to be on a thames riverboat with laetia sadier on the bill, which wouldn't have been such a comedown. i like the amor de dias record a lot but i wonder what it's failure to set the world alight augurs for the clientele.

why should it mean anything? it's a side-project, that got little fanfare.

clientele were thinking of breaking-up anyway, IIRC. that would be sad. every record has been beautiful and moving.

Just got through 4 Clientele albums in a row on Spotify. They have a pleasant sound, but it seemed to me like every song was virtually identical in tone and tempo. Confused a bit by the strong love for this band.

they take a while to sink in. give the violet hour a few more spins.

Strange Geometry was the peak, imo

I'll give it another try today

can this be listened to during daytime hours?

I find sunset to the best time for it.

Strange Geometry is very strong, but maybe the most identical sounding? Their aesthetic is so gorgeous that the sameness isn't of as much concern to me. I've played them so often during beautiful, happy days that they are attached to those memories as well.

Their aesthetic is so gorgeous that the sameness isn't of as much concern to me.

totally! Strange Geometry and Suburban Light are my favourites. The Violet Hour never did much for me though, the songs (with the exception of 'house on fire') aren't particularly memorable.

They've got a couple of great ones off of Bonfires on the Heath. The title track and this one below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbnXFdR0f-o

I love the band but concur that a little Clientele goes a long way. Exception
may be "Suburban Light" which is so reverb soaked and nocturnal
sounding that it stands out from the rest.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u9bHbwywrRc"; frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Classic.

well that didn't work out - not quite sure how to embed. Sorry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9bHbwywrRc

just paste the url iirc

Kwhitehead otm. suburban light also has the best tunes by far, imo. I couldn't get into the stuff after that at all; pop without hooks, for the most part.

I always think of them as one of those bands that, if you fall under their spell, then almost everything they do is killer. At that point all the stuff people complain about - samey tone, instrumentation, and lyrical themes - becomes a feature not a bug.

I just did an interview with Alasdair MacLean about The Clientele and Amor de Días: http://lightoflostwords.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/an-interview-with-alasdair-maclean-of-the-clientele-and-amor-de-dias/

He revealed that they've finished recording the new Amor de Días lp (which he described as "probably the most atmospheric record I’ve ever been involved in") and that Merge Records will release it in January.

nice interview! love that amor de dias record, glad it wasn't a one-off.

quite confused about the two statements "it's quite different from the clientele and the first amor de dias album" and "it's the most atmospheric thing I've ever been involved in"

what about a new Clientele album?

Regarding new music by The Clientele, here's MacLean's statement about their going on indefinite hiatus: http://theclientele.co.uk/news/2011/07/see-you-soon-ish

wouldn't mind if they went in a kind of ariadne direction... that EP is gorgeous.

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing regarding Ariadne and the new atmospheric direction for Amor de Días. I think Lost Weekend is my favorite of The Clientele's eps, but all of them are wonderful.

i think theres a very distinct wintery ,spooked-out, hushed strand of the love of days which is i'm hoping the new one will follow. i wasn't wild about some of the tropicalia moments, but i think they have the germ of something that could be as great as, and very different to, the clientele.

"Share the Night" from 'That Night, A Forest Grew' is so great.

All the EPs are on Spotify...a goldmine

Share the Night is fantastic. The tempo is really up for the Clientele and it works really well. Retiro Park from the same EP is also superb.

new amor de dias record out in january. listening to a promo now, sounds lovely (but that's to be expected, right?).

describe it please.

it sounds exactly like the clientele

well, not exactly, still trading off lead vocals, still a bit more acoustic than the clientele, more of the bossa nova-played-on-a-cold-english-night vibe, but really, it could be released as a clientele album and no one would blink.

oh man, i can't wait...

still wishing someone would put together one of those lavish box sets for the Clientele

in the meanwhile, excited to hear about the new amor de dias.

if you can't wait:

http://blog.kexp.org/2013/01/22/album-preview-amor-de-dias-the-house-at-sea/

kind of love this album tbh

really digging this on first listen

Saw it in the store today, should have grabbed it. I figure there is no rush.

So much good news! Not only is the AdD LP really good, it seems the Clientele are going to be playing a show this year!
http://www.poprevo.dk/

I understand that it's a one-off (for now), but hopefully they will enjoy it and fancy playing some more, eh?

it does sound sublime on first listen. is there any way of getting hold of a copy without lashing out 10 pounds on postage from merge?

rough trade shops'll be getting some in stock, no doubt.

Yeah there'll be opportunities to buy it in the UK by and by (I'm hanging on for the time being rather than mail ordering) . Some talk of a full band AdD show, I hear. Not for a few months though.

When's it out over here? it's wintery perfection.

Not the full band show mentioned above (though news of that soon I hope) but Amor de Dias are planning a brief appearance in London on Sunday afternoon with their friends in the wonderful Hacia Dos Veranos (on whose last LP Alasdair could be heard singing "Draft Morning"). It's part of a weekend of stuff we're putting on, featuring a range of awesome talent! Details here: http://hangoverlounge.blogspot.co.uk/

If you're interested in Hacia Dos Veranos, and if you like the Clientele you might well be, we're delighted to be putting out their new LP any minute, details here: http://haciadosveranos-limay.blogspot.co.uk/ including Alasdair's review of the forthcoming record: http://haciadosveranos-limay.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/alasdair-maclean-reviews-limay.html

I'll be seeing them at Maxwell's in Hoboken!

this Hacia Dos Veranos is quite nice, thanks for the tip.

I went to Denmark last weekend and I saw the Clientele play for the first time in..how long? Not sure.

They were really brilliant. Back to a three-piece, and they played a real fanboy-bait show full of stuff they hadn't been playing as a four-piece. Some genuinely unexpected choices, going as far as "Dear Jennifer"! Personal highlights were "Driving South" and "The House Always Wins". Amazing. They seemed to enjoy themselves so maybe they'll play some more.

Meantime, my lot are putting on this Amor De Dias show in London a week on Sunday. The news is that it will be the full band show I've been on about for a while, and the band - as I understand it - will be Alasdair and Lupe, supplemented by James out of the Clientele and Howard, formerly of the Clientele.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_5ihPluXH0/US6MUepX5CI/AAAAAAAAAo0/WQj5UpxeJtQ/s320/the+hangover+lounge+2013+05+26+copy.jpg

(Also featuring Hacia Dos Veranos as mentioned up there, and a rare show by the amazing Birdie. Come and say hello. Deets: http://hangoverlounge.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/5th-birthday-party-starring-birdie-amor.html)

nice! i really like hacia dos veranos btw, i think i learned of them via this thread (or some clientele-y thread anyway).

oh haha, just scrolled up yes it was this thread.