Release Date: Jul 8, 2003
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Record label: Merge
Music Critic Score
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Ever more intent on discovering the essence of indie, the Clientele are back with an album that dissolves like a daydream and aches like a jilted bride. These songs are heavy with an innocence that's painfully aware of its fleeting nature, slightly ominous but ever hopeful. Atmospheric guitarist and hushed vocalist Alistair MacLean offers Novocaine for a wounded soul.
It’s hard to put your finger on what exactly it is about certain albums or songs that make you feel as if you have a telepathic connection – a real relationship – with your stereo. Whether you’re lying flat on your back attenuated to the grooves in the vinyl or seeking isolation and privacy in your headphones on the street, good albums gives life to machines and sometimes make them your best companions…they speak to you, personally. The Violet Hour by the Clientele is such a record – a collection of 13 songs that are beautiful and interesting enough to potentially make friends and lovers obsolete.