Before jumping into this review, I will quite honestly say that I ignored the Clientele’s new record on title alone. I had no idea what type of music they played or what they were all about, but God Save the Clientele made me pass. Music snobbery revealed itself again, and I lost out. Over the last week, I’ve been listening non-stop and fallen in love with the gentle, dream pop this band delivers.

The Clientele resides in the haze right before you fall asleep and your first moments of peaceful sleep. The melodies and instrumentation float along so effortlessly, in whimsical arrangements that seep into your subconscious. The songs are gentle combinations of harmonies, strings, and liberal use of double tracked vocals that bring to mind the content, joy filled psychedelic Beatles materials (with suitable comparisons to the Velvet Underground on Dance Floor of Hours, the Monkees, or in more contemporary terms, Lambchop on Dreams of Leaving).

The instrumentation on this record swirls in and out with such tranquility that you actually can feel yourself relaxing as the notes seem to pour out of the headphones. The band uses instrumentations so perfectly, like the gentle steel on the breath taking Queen of Seville, or the inaudible whispers of Dance Floor of Hours, that you find yourself sinking into the dream like state of the melodies. Interestingly enough, I even find the middle section of the record comforting. As the songs border on a constant blend of sounds and feel, I finally feel like I’m getting a comforting rest, only to be woken by the sudden change in tempo on the surprisingly upbeat Bookshop Casanova and raging chaos of The Garden At Night. But as simple as rolling over and resettling, the Dreams of Leaving helps you return to a comfortable, dream filled slumber.

MP3:: The Queen of Seville
Stream @ Merge Records

web site :: more tracks :: label :: del.icio.us

Labels: Music, Reviews

 Posted by ack on Monday, May 7, 2007 at 2:13 PM
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