Albums by this artist

The Violet Hour (2003)

The Clientele

The Violet Hour

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» JOHN EVERHART | CONTRIBUTOR

The Clientele The Violet Hour Merge, 2003 RiYL: Belle and Sebastian, Felt, Nick Drake

Hailed by many as the finest pop band to come out of the UK since Belle & Sebastian, The Clientele made an indelible impression on the U.S. indie/twee pop scene with a series of singles, compiled on the Merge Records LP Suburban Light in 2001. The collection was remarkably cohesive, more closely resembling a proper album than a hodgepodge of singles. Now, the band has reemerged with their first proper studio LP, titled The Violet Hour, an album of understated, minimalist beauty.

As impressive as the early singles were, the material on The Violet Hour is often commensurate, sometimes superior. Their restrained jangle, recalling Galaxie 500 at their most gorgeous, is still abundant, with few discernable stylistic changes, but this band are just so damn good at what they do that the formula never wears thin. The opening title track is as close as you can get to subdued jangle pop perfection in 2003, as vocalist/guitarist Alasdair MacLean does his best Tom Verlaine on valium imitation, intoning the detached refrain, "So the summer came and went and I became cold."

"Voices in the Mall," with graceful slide guitar and intricate guitar picking accompanying MacLean's soft crooning, segues into in to the tranquil sing-song "When You and I Were Young," a nostalgic rumination with an astounding level of nuance and subtlety. It's the only song the band chose to print lyrics for in the liner notes, and its pensive clarity establishes it in a rarefied level reserved for the likes of the The Smiths and Big Star.

The Violet Hour is ultimately an impressionist piece. Like the late writer Raymond Carver, The Clientele draw from a fairly fundamental palete, but the hues are rich and vibrant. They illuminate the mundane, find poignancy in the quotidian. While The Violet Hour may do little to raise the band's profile beyond cult status, it's nonetheless an affecting work, one that sustains a mood throughout. Where the Clientele go from here is anyone's guess, but they've provided us with one of the most beautifuly doleful records to emerge from England this decade.

JOHN EVERHART |