Fading Summer

Clientele | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 8, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Merge Records
• ASIN: B000094Q3U
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,589 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fade into incandescence, October 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Fading Summer (Audio CD)

A Fading Summer is the perfect title for The Clientele's debut American EP. The Clientele's shimmering 1960's-style pop has a dark undercurrent, but it's so restrained that you just sit mesmerized by the reverb-drenched melodies. The vocals are heavily accented, enveloping each syllable with a fey English sigh. The music is so quiet and elegantly strummed that it floats by like a lazy afternoon. You'd almost swear you've heard each song somewhere before, but, of course, you haven't. Alasdair Maclean sings as though he doesn't want to wake the neighbors while the guitar chimes lightly in the background.

"An Hour Before The Light" is another title that captures the mood of the song so well that it seems like the music was written with the title in mind. Listening to this EP makes you feel like you've discovered something big. The vocals are clearly the centerpiece, but the music is equally sublime, recalling New Zealand pop and The Byrds all at once. The effect is very subtle, but these strangely alluring lullabies will hit you hard- I just keep starting them over. The Clientele effortlessly evokes the psychedelic side of the 1960's the way Robert Pollard only wishes he could.

"Driving South" is music to lose yourself by. The guitar, bass, and drums build quietly into a slow, swaying pop gem. When Maclean hits those falsetto-notes you have to fight off the chill bumps. The music is so soft and distant that it feels like it could wash away at any moment. The band captures that vintage 60's vinyl sound without seeming too calculating or contrived. This is dreary melancholia for sure, but it tugs at your pop sensibilities and drags you into its misty lair.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fading "Light", January 20, 2005

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fading Summer (Audio CD)

Somewhere between "Suburban Light" and the recent "Violet Hour" was Clientele's "Fading Summer," a brief EP full of drowsy, hazy pop melodies that will either soothe you or have you snoring. It's a pretty little EP, but somehow it feels a bit bland beside their full-length albums.

It opens with the quietly catchy "An Hour Before the Light," a shimmery little song that sounds like a lullaby. It's followed up by the lackluster, stripped-down "Driving South," and the muted ballad "Bicycles," before finishing up with the bouncier "Saturday."

Imagine the Sea and Cake on a summery night, beside a lake covered in fog -- that's the feeling that "Fading Summer" offers listeners. It's a pretty listen, but it's way too short -- as soon as you're sinking into it, bam, you're done. And "Driving South" is a bit too smug-sounding for its own good.

The echoing guitars give the instrumentation an eerie, dreamy effect, and it definitely pegs as the most atmospheric guitarwork done in a long time. Alasdair MacLean's vocals are muted and distant, and his songs have little recognizable end or beginning. But don't worry -- you won't actually be listening to the words. He could be reading his grocery receipt, and would sound hypnotic and unintelligible.

While "Fading Summer" is a fairly good EP, a lackluster long and too-short length drag it down a bit. Even so, it's a charming listen.

5.0 out of 5 stars a great little EP, November 15, 2007

By 

Joseph Broze (chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fading Summer (Audio CD)

Released between their singles collection and their first full length LP, this EP falls right in line with those great records. Four songs, two new to North America and two new to everyone I believe?

If you are into the Clientele, this is essential. If you are new to them, get any of the full lengths NOW.