Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Free and legal MP3 from the Clientele (breezy sound with a pensive undercurrent)

"I Wonder Who We Are" - the Clientele
     With an echo of the cheerful old Aztec Camera song, "Oblivious," in the air here, what do you know, we've got yet another summery delight on our hands.
     At least, seemingly. "I Wonder Who We Are" is an upbeat song with an ostensibly carefree, kicking-around kind of vibe, and yet between the open chords, pensive vocals, and central role of acoustic instruments (guitar, violin, piano), there's a reserve bordering on melancholy that I'm hearing despite the surface-level peppiness. And sure, lead singer Alasdair MacLean is offering those airy "ba-ba-ba-ba-ba"s but they keep leading to that recurring, rather poignant question: "I wonder who we are?" So I for one am not surprised by the 20-second pause at 3:06 when everything clears away, the chugging rhythm disappears, and we're left with a bit of forlorn but lovely guitar noodling. Soon enough the "ba-ba"s come back, toes resume tapping, but I'm left with a feeling that we are being invited to ponder something the typical summer song doesn't usually get tangled up with.
     The Clientele are a London-based quartet with a recording history dating back to 2000. "I Wonder Who We Are" will be found on the band's fifth album, Bonfires on the Heath, slated for a September release on Merge Records. MP3 via Merge.

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