The Clientele - Best Band Since The Smiths

I'll be putting the remainder of the tickets up for sale in the next 24 hours - I don't expect them to last long though. I'll pop a note up here (and tweet from @hangoverlounge ) when they're up. Sorry for the inconvenience.

> koogs, how is the new song?

i'm not really qualified to say - i'm not a fan and didn't even realise what it was until someone pointed it out halfway through.

(Daniel I don't know of any plans to do any more recording past this and the Merge single previously discussed, but they do seem to be enjoying the process. Oh and the Merge site has news of some July shows in the US, too: http://www.mergerecords.com/the-clientele which you lot may or may not have noticed.)

Thanks Tim - I hope I'm around when they go on sale so I can jump on and get one! I never got to see them back in the day and I'd love to.

(Daniel I don't know of any plans to do any more recording past this and the Merge single previously discussed, but they do seem to be enjoying the process. Oh and the Merge site has news of some July shows in the US, too: http://www.mergerecords.com/the-clientele which you lot may or may not have noticed.)

― Tim, Monday, April 14, 2014

thrilled and encouraged by even the possibility that they'll record more albums together as a band.

ooh, I love all of those bands! I hope I can snag a copy of the 7"... I had to pass on the Merge one because it was only available as part of a series, too much $$$.

Haha I did think of you when we arrived at that line-up, FH. It sounds like your cup of tea.

The rest of the tickets for the show are on sale now: http://hangoverlounge.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-clientele-birdie-would-be-goods.html

Oh sorry, that's my blather, this is the ticket link: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/269194 (though please feel free to peruse the HL blog for news of the other exciting forthcoming events, all of which are free.)

Thanks Tim for the news about the tour. Just got tix to the SF show in July. Very excited.

It sounds like your cup of tea.

The first time I saw the Clientele I did it by delaying my return flight by a couple days so I could see them play a London show... I think this was in 2004? Anyway since I was there for another night I went and saw the Would-Be-Goods too! It was a fun couple of days. Koogs showed me around town a bit, and an unknown ILXor (I was drunk) gave me a Shirley Collins CD. Maybe it was you!

More Clientele dates? Great news to kick off the morning!

Got the reissued Suburban Light yesterday. Sounded great while I was driving around with the windows down on a warm Bay Area evening.

I also picked it up this weekend! It does sound great.

Love the bonus material

ooh I hope mine arrives today!

mine arrived today, all the way from the states! (from Denmark)
can't wait to get home from uni...

(that's supposed to be: I'm from Denmark)

Really excited to pick the vinyl up sometime this week. It'll be really cool to actually see one of their records in a shop. I always seem to find a section for them but it's always empty.

God Save & Bonfires are both out there with reasonable availability.

I did manage to find those both online for very reasonable prices but as for record shops here in Minnesota I just seem to have no luck. Strange Mercy is right at the top of my list of albums I want on vinyl and has been for the last year. Couple of copies on Discogs for over a hundred dollars but that's about it. Rarely even comes up on eBay.

Strange Geometry? Yeah me too. All time favorite album.

I bought strange geometry vinyl for a friend on his birthday. I guess he can retire now.

It was my birthday almost a month ago and I still haven't received anything in the mail...

your copy of Dan Fogelberg's Souvenirs is on its way, i swear!

no idea about this reissue. what is the new/extra material?

who gives a shit about vinyl, though, really?

Extra material is on a CD. Unreleased/alternate versions/limited stuff.

I like vinyl.

The only unreleased thing on it I haven't come across before is May Has Brought a Change in You... not sure where it is from. There's some demo versions that might not have seen the light of day before as well.

Strange Geometry? Yeah me too. All time favorite album.

― Evan

Oops, that was indeed meant to be Strange Geometry and not the St. Vincent album (already have that on vinyl)

I like vinyl too. It looks and sounds lovely.

I should force my friend to give strange geometry to one of y'all because he heavily favors violet hour over it iirc. At least violet hour is easier to find on vinyl.

Violet Hour does seem to be bit more available. Think I only paid $30 for it in the end.

Strange Geometry was my favourite when I first got into them. It's much more instant than Violet Hour which I actually thought was a little dull the first time I heard it. After a while I kept going back to Violet Hour and it's taken over as my favourite and has become one of my favourite albums ever. Not many albums have grown on me like that did.

That's funny. I kind of have the exact same story. Since I got into them late, Violet Hour sounded kind of limp and dour in comparison. Now it's extremely hard for me to imagine that perspective. I guess the production made it all blend together, though I now I know the songs!

oops- I now know the songs*

yeah, I didn't get heavily into violet hour immediately. but the aforementioned friend played it every night through one summer, and it eventually took a very strong hold. I immediately took to strange geometry, however, while my friend apparently did not, which does seem a bit backward to me.

Have Strange Geometry on vinyl - didn't realize I was lucky to have it, was one of the first things I ordered once I started collecting. Also one of the first albums I downloaded when I started reading Pitchfork. Also All Time Favorite top10 (agree completely w thread title). Caught the band live last year for local Pop Revo festival's 10th anniversary - all time top5 concerts, wooow, especially hearing/seeing Alasdair's live delivery was eye opening.

Never really got into Violet Hour bc of production, still like it over Bonfires but not overn God Save. SG #1 by far for me. Woohoo Clientele!!!

I was at that PopRevo show, it was a total wonder, not least because it was the first show back as a three-piece and they played a bunch of stuff which no-one had heard live for years. I probably mentioned all of that upthread somewhere.

In other mentioned-upthread news, I have the new recording I talked about now: it's lovely, The Clientele in bright and breezy mode. And a trumpet! It's called "On A Summer Trail".

Has anyone heard the tracks from the Merge singles club 7" yet? Falling Asleep and Orpheus Avenue?

I hope all these new songs are harbingers of a new album (more new Birdie recordings would also be pretty wonderful)!

The Birdie thing we're putting out is "Spiral Staircase" (it's never been out in the UK before) because the new recording ("Bowling Green Saturday") wasn't finished in time for manufacture ahead of the July show (i.e. today). But we are doing our best to persuade them that the world requires the great lost Birdie LP.

Triple Echo is so good!

I know!

Right?

I don't know anything about Birdie. Fill me in?

yes, was going to ask the same thing...

birdie is debsy from dolly mixture (though maybe better known as saint etienne's key regular backup singer on tour, occasionally on album.) paul kelly is the other member, he's done some film work too.

xpost

The core members of Birdie are Paul Kelly (East Village, Episode 4) and Debsey Wykes (Dolly Mixture, Coming Up Roses, tons of other stuff), both of whom have played with Saint Etienne in their time. They make a beautiful noise, which I'd tend to think of as cool-psychy-pop and they know better than most how to deploy an electric piano.

Try these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-KdaAKlB6g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e40p8lnEbA

(We're talking about them here because we have a split single coming out featuring them and the Clientele, and the two bands will be playing the same London show at the start for July; 5 tickets left, hurry hurry.)

I'd attend but I just spent a bunch of money seeing the Clientele up in NYC!

Thanks!

I'm from the states, and no worries- I've got tickets to their show here in July as well! I really can't wait. The chickfactor show in Brooklyn was magical. I mean, so was their Hoboken show in 2010, but I only become a bigger fan as the years pass if that were possible.

I owe my ambition to write overly knotty and complex but beautiful guitar parts to these guys (also Kozelek).

See you there I guess!