One Track Mind

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There’s nothing quite like visiting with an old friend–the ease of the conversational flow, the familiarity and comfort wrought by so many hours spent in one another’s company, the notion that things may be picked up so smoothly wherever they left off. When I first encountered The Clientele in 2000 after the release of the brilliant Suburban Light, it was like a revelation. Their nods to the dreaminess of Galaxie 500 and the bittersweet sentiment of Belle & Sebastian struck me then, as now, as captivating and downright special. Since then, whenever the band gears up to release new albums, the cortex of my brain where music and emotion meet lights up like a Christmas tree in eager anticipation. Although the band has slowly but steadily shorn a good chunk of their original low fidelity gauziness, they have always remained a talented group.

“I Wonder Who We Are,” our first gander at the band’s upcoming fifth LP, Bonfires on the Heath–due October 6th on Merge–marks another step in the band’s progression away from the ethereal toward more traditionally rooted pop songs. Were it not for Alasdair MacLean’s hallmark whispery rasp and the unhurried melodies throughout, I dare say that this version of The Clientele bears little more than a passing resemblance to the band that recorded all of those 7″s a decade ago. Only the breakdown in the middle of the song strikes these ears as The Clientele of old.

And that’s fine by me. The tone on “I Wonder Who We Are” (the title itself an appropriate statement for a band always buffing new facets of its personality) is one of a bewildered sort of conquest, celebratory yet lent an introspective air thanks to MacLean’s delivery. Guitars ring out with The Life Pursuit style confidence while new band member Mel Draisey scatters the surface with little ripples of piano. Bright, brassy horns add zip to the arrangement, a carryover from Louis Philippe’s flawless orchestrations on the band’s last two releases.

The production is a little too clean for The Clientele’s own good, with MacLean’s popping plosives coming through with a tad too much definition, but it is a trifling qualm. “I Wonder Who We Are” is an unadulterated indie-pop gem–a broad, winning smile of a song.