For their third album, The Clientele channel the late ’60s/early ’70s period in pop when the genre was steeped in melodic and emotional simplicity while yearning to explore more expansive modes of expression, lyrically and sonically. With God Save the Clientele, the London quartet create a new iteration of their breathy bedroom pop at the intersection of the Beatles’ wondrous sophistication and Gerry and the Pacemakers’ blissful naivete, like Al Stewart’s folk pop lilt woven into Big Star’s crystalline soul with Mitch Easter producing everything to a lush contemporary lustre. The Clientele’s clear talent - and the success of God Save the Clientele - lies in the band’s rare ability to faithfully adhere to the tenets of ’60s pop (gorgeous string arrangements, dewy eyed vocals rising just above a whisper, a bouncy yet never cloying melodicism) without falling into parody or slavish emulation, and then seamlessly translating that 40-year-old template into a thoroughly modern mindset, as evidence by the Harper’s Bizarre-tributes-Scritti Politti pop sheen of “I Hope I Know You” and its inverse dance doppelganger “Bookshop Casanova.” The beauty of God Save the Clientele in particular - and the appeal of the Clientele in general - is that fans of both eras will find something to love within its contemporary retro chic.
--Brian Baker
The shimmering, incandescent glow of the Clientele carries with it a charm and effervescence that makes their new album more than mere ear candy, but something delightfully akin to a refreshing spring shower. Granted, there are numerous other outfits of similar pop persuasion with whom they could be compared - Lilac Time, Everything But The Girl and the Go-Betweens, to name but a few. The vibrant textures and rich, glossy arrangements strike an especially radiant note here, but the Clientele’s knack for conjuring up bubbly yet blissful melodies that discourage any notion of style over substance. “Isn’t It Strange” demonstrates their ability to absorb the influences of their Brit rock forebears; in this one song they’ve managed to cull the title of a Moody Blues tune, recreate a Lennon-esque vocal in leader Alasdair MacLean’s delivery and emulate the sort of wistful nostalgia that reflects the whimsy of Ray Davies. It’s lovely stuff indeed, with songs such as “No Dreams Last Night,” “Somebody Changed,” “Dreams of Leaving” and “I Hope I Know You” evoking a sense of twilight reflection, exquisitely serene yet without the melancholia that defines the shoegazer stance. This may be their fourth set overall, but its seductive, sublime ambiance qualifies it as a contention for buzz album of the year.
~ Lee Zimmerman
Buy Album from CD Universe
