Alasdair MacLean and James Hornsey both grew up in Hampshire, England, and began collaborating musically while still in school, after MacLean saw that Hornsey had written the name of the band Felt on his pencil case. They formed a band in 1991, with Innes Phillips sharing singing and song-writing duties with MacLean, under the name of The Butterfly Collectors, and they recorded an album's worth of material, but failed to get any label interest. Innes then left the band and the remaining two members regrouped in 1997 as The Clientele, adding drummer Mark Keen to the line-up, after which they moved to London. After debuting on the Fierce Panda label's 'Cry Me a Liver' compilation, the Clientele released a slew of singles, compilation contributions, and EPs in short order, on a variety of indie labels, including Pointy Records, Johnny Kane Records, Motorway, Elefant Records, and March Records. In 2000 March Records released the compilation EP 'A Fading Summer', and later the full-length compilation album 'Suburban Light' was issued by Pointy. It was to be three more years before the band released their debut album, with 'The Violet Hour' appearing in 2003 on Pointy in the UK and Merge in the U.S., and it achieved some acclaim, but little commercial success. August 2005 saw the release of their second album, 'Strange Geometry', and it was the first that the band recorded with a producer, Brian O'Shaughnessy, who had previously produced Primal Scream. It was notable for a much cleaner production sound than the reverb-heavy sound that had previously been their defining characteristic, and it was also the first time the band had used a string section.
'Strange Geometry' was quickly followed by a collection of recordings from 1991 to 1996, featuring Innes Phillips, called 'It's Art, Dad'. After a U.S. tour in August 2006, The Clientele became a four-piece again, adding Mel Draisey on violin, keys and percussion, who became their first female member, and this line-up recorded the album 'God Save The Clientele' with producer Mark Nevers, known for his work with Merge labelmates Lambchop. The album was released in May 2007 in the United States, and 'Bonfires On The Heath', another release on Merge, was issued in late 2009. The Minotaur EP, which followed in mid-2010, was made up of leftover songs recorded during the sessions for 'Bonfires On The Heath'. Despite the Clientele's claims of giving up touring after their worldwide jaunt promoting 'Bonfires On The Heath', they returned to the U.S. for live gigs after the EP's release, but soon after these dates were completed the group members announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus. MacLean formed a new band called Amor de Dias, and the rest went their separate ways until re-forming (minus Draisey) to play a one-off show in 2013 at the Pop Revo Festival in Denmark. Things remained quiet on the recording front, and the band surprised many fans by scheduling a U.S. tour in early 2014 to coincide with Merge's 25th birthday festivities and the deluxe reissue of 'Suburban Light'.
It later emerged that MacLean had been working with an old friend, Anthony Harmer, on new songs, with MacLean coming up with words and music and Harmer working out arrangements. Hornsey and Keen soon joined them and the band went to work on their fifth album, which would be their first in seven years. 2017's 'Music For The Age Of Miracles' featured the core trio plus Harmer on guitars, vocals, and keyboards, with a guest appearance by harpist Mary Lattimore. The album was released by Merge and Tapete in September of 2017. The core trio of MacLean, Hornsey, and Keen began work on a new album in 2019, working slowly as they undertook recording on a computer for the first time. It allowed them to tinker more, using samples and loops, and taking their sound in some new directions as they worked out song structures and arrangements before heading into the studio to complete the songs. Along the way, they gathered inspiration from electric Miles Davis albums, added narration by Jessica Griffin of Would-Be-Goods, and generally took a more avant-garde, experimental approach that added some new shades to their typically autumnal sound. 'I Am Not There Anymore' was released by Merge in mid-2023 to almost universal acclaim, with critic Tim Sendra writing this is "another pitch-perfect album from the band, certainly one of their best and most devastatingly pretty works". To hear how they reached that point in their career, here are all the non-album sides they've recorded since their formation in 1997, including singles, b-sides, compilation appearances and split singles.
Track listing
Disc I - 1997-2000
01 We Could Walk Together (from the 'Cry Me A Liver' various artists compilation 1997)
02 What Goes Up (single 1998)
03 Five Day Morning (b-side of 'What Goes Up')
04 I Had To Say This (single 1999)
05 Monday's Rain (b-side of 'I Had To Say This')
06 An Hour Before The Light (b-side of Reflections After Jane' 1999)
07 Lace Wings (single 1999)
08 Saturday (b-side of 'Lace Wings')
09 (I Want You) More Than Ever (single 2000)
10 6 a.m. Morningside (b-side of '(I Want You) More Than Ever')
11 Driving South (from the 'A Fading Summer' EP 2000)
12 Bicycles (from the 'A Fading Summer' EP 2000)
Disc II - 2002-2004
01 Fear Of Falling (b-side of 'A Haunted Melody' 2002)
02 North School Drive (from the 'Lost Weekend' EP 2002)
03 Boring Postcard (from the 'Lost Weekend' EP 2002)
04 Emptily Through Holloway (from the 'Lost Weekend' EP 2002)
05 Kelvin Parade (from the 'Lost Weekend' EP 2002)
06 Last Orders (from the 'Lost Weekend' EP 2002)
07 Breathing Soft & Low (b-side of 'House On Fire' 2003)
08 Enigma (from the 'Ariadne' EP 2004)
09 Summer Crowds In Europe (from the 'Ariadne' EP 2004)
10 The Sea Inside A Shell (from the 'Ariadne' EP 2004)
11 Ariadne Sleeping (from the 'Ariadne' EP 2004)
Disc III - 2005-2014
01 Devil Got My Woman (b-side of 'Since K Got Over Me' 2005)
02 I Believe It (b-side of 'Since K Got Over Me' 2005)
03 Six Foot Drop (split single with Clock Strikes Thirteen 2002)
04 The Fire (b-side of 'Bookshop Casanova' 2007)
05 Girl From Somewhere (b-side of 'Bookshop Casanova' 2007)
06 Retiro Park (from the 'That Night, A Forest Grew' EP 2008)
07 Share The Night (from the 'That Night, A Forest Grew' EP 2008)
08 George Says He Has Lost His Way In This World (from the 'That Night, A Forest Grew' EP 2008)
09 That Night, A Forest Grew (from the 'That Night, A Forest Grew' EP 2008)
10 On A Summer Trail (split single with Birdie 2014)
11 Orpheus Avenue (b-side of 'Falling Asleep' 2014)
Disc IV - 2016-2024
01 Breathe In Now (from the 'A Sense Of Falling: Strange Geometry Outtakes' EP 2016)
02 Losing Haringey (from the 'A Sense Of Falling: Strange Geometry Outtakes' EP 2016)
03 One Hundred Leaves (from the 'A Sense Of Falling: Strange Geometry Outtakes' EP 2016)
04 Since We Last Spoke (from the 'A Sense Of Falling: Strange Geometry Outtakes' EP 2016)
05 Spanish Night (from the 'A Sense Of Falling: Strange Geometry Outtakes' EP 2016)
06 When I Came Through (from the 'A Sense Of Falling: Strange Geometry Outtakes' EP 2016)
07 All Alone (single 2017)
08 Lyra In August (b-side of 'All Alone')
09 Closer (single 2020)
10 Orpheus Beach (single 2020)
11 Still Corridor (b-side of 'Claire's Not Real' 2024)
12 Trains In The Night (single 2024)
