New Music: The Clientele: "Bookshop Casanova" [MP3]
Here on a song from the forthcoming album God Save the
Clientele, we have a Clientele more forward in every conceivable
way: "You got my name/ Pick up my number/ Come on darling/ Let's be
lovers." Maybe he's in character, but lead singer and songwriter
Alasdair Maclean almost sounds like a cad. Meanwhile, the chords are hitting on
the 1 and 3 over the brisk beat and strings that sound like
they might have drifted over from Philadelphia are swirling all over the place. And then Maclean throws in a
fuzztone guitar solo on the break and doubles his own voice like John and Paul
during a closing refrain of "Good Night".
Turns out the Clientele are pretty good at peppy, upbeat guitar pop with orchestral flourishes. They've so far been one of those bands less interested in "branching out" than perfecting a unified aesthetic, but here they sound different, energized, more expansive, and less hermetic, and the change is welcome.
MP3: > The Clientele: "Bookshop Casanova"
[from God Save The Clientele; due 05/08/07 on Merge] | [PRE-ORDER]