British quartet the Clientele finds success (and maybe failure)
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Friday, February 19, 2010
By almost all measures, the Clientele has carved out a nice little career for itself. Since the London-based quartet's first singles came out a little more than a decade ago, it has maintained a devoted following, garnered critical praise and landed on renowned Merge Records. The band has also crafted a unique and immediately identifiable sound that has helped it stand out in the expanding indie-rock universe. Misty, melancholy pop is the Clientele's calling card -- the soundtrack to constant dusk, heavy on the reverb and lilting melodies. So, signature sound, top label, international tours. Who wouldn't be pleased with that?
Singer-guitarist Alasdair MacLean, apparently.
"Failure," he says, reflecting on the band's career. "Disgraceful."
All failures should be so pleasant. The band's fourth -- and perhaps final -- album, "Bonfires on the Heath," is another understated gem of gentle finger-picking and romantic crooning that distills classic pop influences, equally indebted to '60s hitmakers the Byrds and the Zombies as well as to cult-favorite '80s acts the Go-Betweens and Felt. Although "Bonfires" contains a few songs that could be categorized as rollicking (if not quite rocking), there are, as usual, no fist-pumping moments or grand singalongs. It's a formula that has made the Clientele (that's KLEE-in-tel if you want to pronounce it the British way) popular with vinyl collectors and pop obsessives, but MacLean had grander ambitions.
"We always wanted to make music that could appeal to a lot of people," he says. "I guess we just went about it the wrong way, in a quixotic way without really realizing it. We always wanted to make popular pop songs. The failure doesn't feel any less disgraceful for the fact that we were low-key and subtle about it."
Again, the term "failure" must be put into perspective. It's true that the band has sold a small number of albums compared with such labelmates as the Arcade Fire and Spoon. But existing for a decade without a single blemish in its discography should count for something. And after an interview last year in which MacLean hinted that the band's split might be imminent, others have started to take notice, including those in his home country who had ignored the band, which also includes bassist James Hornsey, drummer Mark Keen and multi-instrumentalist Mel Draisey. (The States have always been kinder to the band, and MacLean calls the group's first U.S. tour in 1999 "the high point of ever touring anywhere, ever.")
"People are more interested in us now. We're selling out venues," MacLean explains. "People are respecting our music more. But for a long time in Britain, we just wondered why we bothered. Now everyone's like, 'The band who spent the last 10 years making literate pop! England's answer to the Go-Betweens!' And you're just like, 'Oh, [buzz] off!' "
MacLean's guitar playing most defines the band's aesthetic. He plays with his fingernails in a Spanish style, and a generous helping of reverb is layered on top to create a gauzy texture. Both of those elements came about partly by accident, he'll tell you. His parents forced him to take Spanish guitar lessons when he showed interest in the instrument as a child. "I wanted to learn the guitar because I loved the Beatles. And I ended up learning pieces by [Andrés] Segovia," MacLean says. As for the reberb, "On my amp I have never turned the reverb past 4. But I guess most people only go to 2." The combination helps give the songs "a warped, weird" feel, in MacLean's terms.
It's the kind of music that attracts fans slowly over many years. So why would MacLean think about throwing in the towel now -- "I reserve the right to carry on with the band so that I don't sound like a hypocrite," he adds -- especially as such long-haul bands as Built to Spill and Yo La Tengo have endured for two decades and are now more popular than ever?
"What a miserable way to earn a living. . . . It's against the spirit of rock music to win by slow, unglamorous perseverance," he says. "I always thought pop bands should be like Joy Division, where they are just there and gone in a blaze of glory. And if they can't be like Joy Division, they should be like Felt, where they spent 10 years defining an aesthetic. And then leave it behind for other people to discover. And I hope that the latter will be the path we follow."
The Clientele Appearing with Vetiver on Tuesday at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. Show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets: $13. 202-667-7960. 877-725-8849. http:/
