“I’ve got to go; its nearly morning, though leaving you will break my heart.
Don’t be afraid of dreams of leaving - remember they are only dreams.
They have no meaning in the sunlight. Just the same as you and me.
Goodnight my angel of the dark…”
I spent most of Thursday night, and a great deal of my train travels yesterday listening to the new Clientele album. Some have said that they have yet to fall in love with it, but I was head over heels in moments. Not least because of the lush baroque production, but also because, simply, it contains some of the most exquisite, heartbreaking songs that you will ever hear. I swear to god, I had ‘Dreams of Leaving’ on an endless loop for such a long time. That and ‘The Queen of Seville’ have had me in raptures of sadness. Never were there such collisions of melancholy, love and longing in such perfect sonic settings. Well, maybe the Millennium’s ‘The Ways I Love You’ might push them close. But that’s so perfect, for The Clientele are surely crafting their own 21st Century equivalent of the magical soft psychedelia that those West Coast geniuses were making in the ‘60s.
God Save The Clientele, indeed.
Album of the year no less (I know we've still got more than half of this year to come but I'm pretty sure no one will top the beauty of this album).
I don't know how they keep doing it : everytime you think the Clientele can't get any better, they just do...
Oh and I've got a single of the year already as well (actually it has yet to come out and will only be released as a cdr by the band) : the Bridal Shop "from seas"
And here I was thinking 2007 wasn't going to be a great year for music ...
Posted by: Bart (Belgium) | June 09, 2007 at 14:09
"...lonely cops pick flowers on their beats..."
Glad you're loving it as much as I am: I did warn you... /;-)
Posted by: Stuart | June 09, 2007 at 14:33
Aw man ... I'm glad you picked up on 'Dreams Of Leaving'. That's the one I told you about at The Orchids show ... the one that sounds like a perfect Townes Van Zandt/Jimmy Webb melody ... the one which, on first hearing, nearly made me crash my car. It's just absurdly beautiful isn't it? I played it to my parents after they saw The Proclaimers last night and they loved it. Seems like they're onto a winner with 'God Save...'. Glad you like it :)
Posted by: brogues | June 11, 2007 at 00:19