The Clientele
Strange Geometry
(Merge)
Has anyone put out a catchier song than “Since K Got Over Me”? It’s like they knew exactly what part of my brain would react to this kind of fifties inspired pop and then drove a nail straight into it. The song ends and I restart it, then I restart it again. It reminds me of The Beatles, The Monkees (“Pleasant Valley Sunday-esque”), or The Byrds, but it feels new. The Clientele are known for shoving music’s past through their new ideas and it has never come out quite as good as on “Strange Geometry.” They throw their hair in the wind a couple times, but for the most part this is an album of tremolo guitar with an echo swarming around it like steam in a sauna. This is easily one of the best CD’s of 2005 and probably 2006.
