The Clientele - Best Band Since The Smiths

Liking this on first listen. Idly speculating that it takes a period of months/years to know whether an album with skits/interludes properly gels.

All the positive reactions are encouraging me to spend more time with this. The last album was so instant and is one of my favourite albums of theirs. I'm hoping this one grows on me.

It's funny because the last album ended up being my least favorite! It felt like a (relative) lack of inspired musical ideas with overly busy production garnish to compensate. Like just-OK ice cream base layer with overly rich syrup and sprinkles etc. Ends up being a "bit much" and sort of underwhelming all at once. I'm trying too hard to describe it perfectly and in doing so makes me sound more negative than intended probably... because I still like it! Just not as much as most of the rest of the discography.

New one sounded really cohesive - ambitious but in a way that felt more successful and immersive to me! Really into it.

xpost i my initial view on the last album was relatively negative but after listening to it a few more times over the years i came round to really loving about half the songs.

looking forward to spending time with the new one.

Age of Miracles had like four top-tier Clientele songs... Everyone You Meet, Lunar Days, Falling Asleep, Age of Miracles! Maybe it's time to poll the Clientele?

So far this one seems like a sprawling version of the Ariadne EP (which has the earlier, superior version of Impossible)

I was prepared to hate this based on one of the advance singles and some of what you all were posting (even the complimentary comments had me a little worried). But actually it was pretty good on first listen. It meanders in a way I don't really think other Clientele albums do and I'm not sure how that will feel after multiple listens, but at least the first time through I enjoyed the wax/wane pacing.

Enjoying this also (from a similarly skeptical starting point)… reminds me of Performance somehow - viz hippy-era eclecticism but also the sense of a big rambling house full of different vibes… man…

the last album ended up being my least favorite! It felt like a (relative) lack of inspired musical ideas with overly busy production garnish to compensate

this is too harsh

but I agree with the sentiment

I tried to disclaimer that it sounded harsher than I meant for it to...

Gee, the not-a-song-per-se tracks are frequently quite spiffy.

they've always had good interstitals

missing an i in there somewhere

Yeah, true. This time part of me wants an entire LP along the lines of "My Childhood"/"The Village is Always On Fire" etc. Perhaps in a Julian House sleeve!

I think this is one of those albums where you can Remove one song from an almost perfect album to make it a perfect album
maybe several

but maybe that's why it's great

an album can't be a 10 if it doesn't have skips. means they weren't taking enough risks

― flopson, 8. august 2023 22:43

see also voodoo chili's upcoming treatise "in defense of skips"

The Clientele have a new podcast... https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-clientele-podcast/id1698656005

For no good reason at all this has been one of those in one ear, out the other bands for me, but I'll be seeing them tonight!

I was out of town and missed their dc gig, but 2 folks who I know who attended, enjoyed the gig

Really pleasing set, short and sweet, like one long suite with a bunch of lovely movements (that I immediately forgot as I heard them, lol). Alasdair is an endearingly fussy guitarist, love his refusal to use obvious chords. There was one song where he totally (and recognizably, so intentionally) went all "Marquee Moon." Was there with a friend that knows the group so got to say hi at the end of the night. Nice crowd turnout.

Would love to see them but don't think I'll be able to make any of the European cities

Happy all the same that they are performing and that they're great as always

they missed flyover space, i'd enjoy seeing alisdair verlaine. glad they're goin' around tho

got tickets for some of the east coast shows but couldn't make it (not for unhappy reasons though... I bought a new house and had to move that weekend!)

Looking forward to seeing them in SF on the 20th.

Saw them play in Seattle last night, they were great. They did a long version of Lamplight with the Marquee Moon interlude that Josh mentioned upthread. The (three or four) new songs they played sounded really good. Alasdair mentioned they had not yet played Blue Over Blue without messing it up, but they seemed to get through it without a hitch.

Paris tonight! In a boat on the Seine. I’m looking forward to it a lot.

I was undisapponted, and I was not alone in that. Three encores and some disgruntlement that there wasn’t a fourth. They played “A Picture of Dorian Gray” in the final encore, I haven’t heard them play that one in a very long time.

sounds amazing! I'm sad I missed their US tour recently but I was moving house that week

I have never cared for this band but the new album knocked me out.

they played the House Always Wins!

Did they? I haven’t seen that for a while, glad it’s still in rotation

haha wait weren't you there? in paris?

They didn’t play THAW last night - I’d have noticed, it’s my favourite!

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!

Yeah I’m absolutely certain that’s wrong

that's really harshing my vicarious enjoyment of the show!

No! It was really good!

this is clearly doing it wrong but my perfect IANTA album (more like an EP this way) playlist goes:

Lady Grey
Conjuring Summer In
Blue Over Blue
Claire's Not Real
Chalk Flowers
Hey 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

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.

"Still Corridor" single from July is very good, today a great outtake "Trains in the Night"

they're spoiling us

The special guest slot for this show looks like an interesting one-off: Alasdair, James and original drummer Dan playing material from Suburban Light and before. https://www.seetickets.com/event/the-smashing-times-special-guests-tba-/moth-club/3165507

There was quite a chunk of SL material in the first, request-based set on Saturday, including The House Always Wins which is my special favourite. Losing Haringey was ably spoken by Justin Hopper who does the Old Weird Albion thing.

They were on vg form in general

why do I live in Texas? this sounds amazing

Wow jealous

What IS the deal with the little James Bond theme sounding part in "We Could Walk Together", anyway?

They are reissuing The Violet Hour on vinyl

https://mergerecords.com/product/the_violet_hour

best album of all time (I have two copies on vinyl already but I did like the t-shirt they made for the repress so I snagged one of those)

tis the season

Trains in the Night is such a great one-off, don't miss it. Digital is on Bandcamp for a dollar.

I am really looking forward to the Violet Hour reissue show in St Pancras Old Church (small, v atmos, v picturesque).

Jealous!

I only had one opportunity to see em, back when they were touring God Save The Clientele - it was great but a Violet Hour-themed show would be blissful

Their initial original-trio reunion for Chickfactor was also magical since they similarly focused on older material.