Bonfires On The Heath

And there I was thinking that the classic English pop album in a all it's fey and crepuscular polite glory was a dying art. Then I happened upon Bonfires On The Heath ( great English evocative title by the way ) by The Clientele , a band who I had previously heard of but never had anything to do with.
The songs ,all sung by Alasdair MacLean in a high slightly tremulous voice ,are impeccably arranged slightly genteel and yet for the most part have an assiduous melodic knack and wistful regretful character. Glistening guitars are augmented by mannered piano , gracious bass and whispery percussion .There are occasional interludes of trumpet and cadenced strings. Its all impeccably tasteful but quite superb.
The title track has a line about "Late October sunlight in the wood " and beautifully encinves this with gleaming rays of slide guitar and twinkling notes like dust caught in the bright rays . "Never Anyone But You " is the sort of affecting eloquent love song -"There's a phantom in my breath / There's a phantom in the gaps between my bones / I can only see you "- dullards like Coldplay & Snow Patrol would love to be able to write but can't you see because.....well... they are dullards.
Opening track "I Wonder Who We Are " is a joyous traipse through pops effervescing possibilities. There is more effulgent misfortune on "Jennifer and Julia " while the horns get an enjoyable breezy workout on "Share The Night " and I Know I Will See Your Face " . "Sketch " ups the ante for 91 seconds of rousing six stringed escapism. " Graven Wood " is a wonderful miasmic pall of studied notes and drones while "Harvest Time " is just marvellously evocative of a better purer time , at one with the season as the "Scarecrow watches the verges of light " and "Bats from the eaves go shivering by " .
Every year an album comes along late in the year that blows me away .This year it,s Bonfires On The Heath .An album that reminds me of bands like The Orchids and Television Personalities but slyly brings to mind the evocative Englishness of XTC at their more pastoral . It, quite fantastic it really is. Like the line on "Harvest Time" goes- "Everything here has a time and a place " .

I was expecting that again, with The Clientele, an old habitual phenomena would repeat in my life as a pop/rock listener. That is: a band makes a record that I simply fall in love with ("The Violet Hour"), and after that it's all inexplicably downward. I've been waiting for every new release with trepidation, but neither "Strange Geometry" nor "God Save The Clientele" really convinced me, despite the critical acclaim they received. It seemed like they had lost one of their most vital elements, some sort of magic that cannot come only from the sum of different parts (drenching reverb+Felt guitars/sixties melodies and vintage organs + graceful string arrangements)... Well, luckily that seemingly karmic pattern got shattered with this wonderful release. Every song, from beginning to end, is a jewel of subtle, layered and minimal arrangements, the instruments are played softly, as in a light state of trance, the bass is a serpentine road that helps you travel through these songs-like-old-cities, like memories of old cities, the strings are like silhouettes rising, like the hills in the distance, Alasdair MacLean's voice/whisper is one of the few whispered voices in alt-pop that is utterly recognizable, because we know he's telling his habitual reveries, lost somewhere out of time. Plus, here we have some really beautiful trumpet arrangements, which in this context directly recall "Forever Changes" (by the way, another MacLean in there!), Spanish/Jazzy and Bossa guitars, and a delicious cover of a song ("Tonight") by an obscure Swedish band called Evergreen Days (does their name come from the Felt song Evergreen Dazed?).. And much more... and yes, the magic is here, again. Thank you for this record, can't stop listening to it.

I make this the fourth "proper" Clientele album and have to say, my favourite to date. Alasdair's honeyed tones and reverb laden guitar is instantly recognizable, the songs are crafted gems, but it's the arrangements of strings, brass etc that really make this record shine to my ears. The central melodies are enhanced - simply taken to a new level. I'd consider it the most consistently good record they've released. Nice to hear "Graven Wood" getting an update too.
This was the US release which came out in early October 09 (presumably cos the Americans rate this band more highly than we do here) but the UK release is out on Pointy this week. And, if you like, seek out Alasdair's solo set on WMFU from Oct 28th.