4 ...according to our Clinton on 03 September 2010.
Ideally you want your favourite bands to release a record every three or four years. You want them to be sweating over it a little bit. Anything over that (unless you are The Blue Nile) starts to become a bit of a worry. Conversely its also a concern if too many records come out too quickly. Only last October The Clientele delivered 'Bonfires on the Heath' which was mostly great. Could they really come up with something as good in less than a year? Well 'Minotaur' is promoted as a mini album, despite having 8 tracks and kind of carries on where 'Bonfires...' left off - gorgeous 60's style songs muddled at times with over fussy arrangements. A return to the dusty simplicity of the debut 'Suburban Light' or the swooning string arrangements of 2005's high water mark 'Strange Geometry' wouldn't go amiss but in the meantime this is another decent Clientele album full of autumnal regret, chiming guitars, poetic lyrics with musical nods to The Zombies, Love, Left Banke, Belle and Sebastian.
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Sound clips for Minotaur by The Clientele: on CD at Norman Records UK. CD, Pointy, POINT026CD, £9.09.
The Clientele, originally from Hampshire and now based in London, enjoy cult status in USA where, signed to Merge Records (Arcade Fire, Lambchop, Magnetic Fields) regularly enjoy sell out tours from east to west coast. Their new 8 track album Minotaur follows last years critically acclaimed fifth album "Bonfires On The Heath" which the BBC described as 'some of the most heartbreakingly lovely, perfectly formed music to be recorded anywhere over the past decade.' While Pitchfork voted their 2000 debut Suburban Light in the top 100 albums of the decade (one place ahead of Madonna). For the uninitiated though maybe UNCUT summed it up best 'Like Felt before them, The Clientele have completed an immaculate decade.....a young TS Elliot fronting the zombies...' .
