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God Save the Clientele

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The Clientele

 
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God Save the Clientele

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Avg: 3.5 (298 ratings)

Scottish quartet write willowy, wonderful fairy tale music.

  • We Say...

    Review by J. Edward Keyes

    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds," opined some bitter bastard who'd never heard the Clientele. The Scottish quartet has made consistency — foolish and otherwise — a magic act, taking the same basic formula of breathy vocals and glistening instrumentation and making it seem novel every time. Their last record, Strange Geometry, sounded like Peter Noone's idea of a breakup album, full of paisley-colored pop songs about growing apart and giving up and going on. Most significantly, Geometry found the group blowing away the haze that had smothered their songs up till then, allowing their compositions little luxuries like corners and edges.

    But where Geometry was merely clearer, God Save the Clientele is sweeter and sunnier, little fingers of sunlight prying open the center of the songs and flooding them with warmth. Clientele frontman/auteur Alasdair MacLean no longer hordes his major chords, and the songs here are full of open-eyed, upward-reaching melodies. He's also learned there’s no need to write a chorus when you can just suggest one: the two-word sketchpad refrain of “These Days Nothing But Sunshine” is more stirring and potent than any roof-raising crowd-rouser. MacLean’s guitar casts out sound like a crystal scattering light — in little gleaming rivulets and particles. The rest of the band cues in to his leads: James Hornsey's bass is low and loping, Mel Draisey's keyboards gentle as wind chimes, Mark Keen's drumming spare. The best songs on God Save are like fables, where to speak an idea is to make it come true. “My heart is playing like a violin,” sings MacLean in “Here Comes the Phantom” and, just like that, a violin comes in.

    What's most heartening about God Save, though, is how well the group's aesthetic translates to a brighter milieu. While it might not be a tremendous sonic stretch, the little tweaks — fuller verses, sturdier bridges — manage to merge progress with nostalgia. It's consistency with character — and not a hobgoblin in sight.

  • They Say...

    Review by Tim Sendra, All Music Guide

    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.

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