English band the Clientele have been constantly evolving since their late-’90s inception—probably more than they are credited for. Though their growth is undoubtedly present from the rainy psychedelia of 2000’s Suburban Light to the shimmering Britpop of their most recent effort God Save the Clientele, they still often get accused by detractors of “always sounding the same.” That is partly because of how much Alasdair MacLean’s breathy baritone defines the band’s sound, but mostly it’s due to the fact that the Clientele’s musical shifts are so subtle and deliberate that to the casual listener they can be difficult to discern. So, when the band stated that their new record Bonfires on the Heath would be “spooky and tremendously sad,” it wouldn’t have been unthinkable to respond “well duh, after all it is a Clientele album.” It would an unfair judgment though to place Bonfires firmly in well-worn territory however. While it doesn’t take the band in any radical new directions, it does incorporate some intricate sonic additions that make it unique.

For the most part Bonfires builds on the fuller sound that the band first dove into with GSTC. Relatively new keyboardist Mel Draisey’s presence is notable for starters, though not quite as pronounced as the pre-album chatter had suggested. The real difference is in the diverse array of instrumentation, which started with GSTC and is expanded here. Particularly the brass section, which gives the opener “I Wonder Who We Are” a slightly exotic flavor, and makes the bridge of “I Know I’ll See Your Face” seem downright mariachi. There’s also quite a bit of Spanish influence in the classical guitar throughout record, and is that a sitar I hear? Damn, that must have been some LSD that MacLean was on when he conceived the new record (he was on an accidental trip after a “friend” put the drug in his drink without his knowing). The Clientele has a knack for enveloping influences rather than letting them run free, and as diverse as the music gets it never drifts too far from the Clientele mothership. And that mothership’s cannons have been lovingly loaded to the brim with the band’s signature melancholy psychedelia, English pop, and dreamy imagery. While the new aspects of the sound make an impact, overall they are just along for the ride.

[uncredited photo via the Clientele]

Still, there are a few tracks that shake things up considerably. “Share the Night,” for instance, lights up the scales with a jazzy rhythm guitar over pulsating organ, with a lone trumpet line and a couple of wicked guitar solos. “Harvest Time” taps a little Eastern influence with strings and a sitar drone that compliment its ghostly imagery. Then there is “Sketch,” an odd spoken word piece over screeching guitars. “Sketch” would probably sound more appropriate were it not sandwiched between two of the record’s gentlest tracks, the soft-touch meditation on loneliness “Jennifer and Julia” and the sweet lullaby of “Tonight,” a cover of a song by obscure Swedish musicians Evergreen Days. Regardless, it does little to take away from the beauty of either of those songs, especially “Tonight,” which mixes MacLean’s vocals with Draisey’s to a lovely effect. More firmly in the orthodox Clientele tradition, tracks like “Never Saw Them Before,” and the album’s title track sound like they could be off of Strange Geometry. That’s not to say they are lacking though, MacLean’s moody lyricism covers where the sound gets stale, with poetry like “The rhododendrons stole your clothes/I lost myself/I vanished in the brief ecstatic rain.” MacLean is ever his soul-searching self, and the record reflects his metaphysical wandering from the Archimboldo “hidden face” cover art to the lyrics themselves.

Despite some of the record’s peculiarities, Bonfires remains true to what we’ve come to expect from the band. Even in the uptempo tracks the songs never fully shed the Zombies-esque anglophilia that has come to define MacLean’s work. Overall the Clientele has created, well, a Clientele album. To longtime fans it will be a welcome continuation of the band’s rich, dreamy, poesy with a few new surprises. To detractors though it will sound just like the five records previous to it. I fall firmly in the former category. But that’s not to say I can’t understand where the latter are coming from.

The Clientele “Harvest Time” (mp3)

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