Bonfires on the Heath by The Clientele
LABEL: Merge

“It’s an incredibly satisfying work that just happens to make you feel like picking apples and snuggling under blankets.”

Sometimes artists will make songs that issue unspoken commands and you, the listener, are powerless against their dizzying siren call. Like when you hear Big Pun, somehow you just know you need to move very quickly and find the nearest hot tub. Other artists make music that’s seasonal. Tracks from The Knife blow in like a blizzard and all you want to do is put on a down parka and drink a keg of hot cocoa. 

With Bonfires on the Heath, The Clientele has managed to assemble a collection of tracks that exude extreme levels of both phenomena. One listen and you have an uncontrollable urge to take the Nestea plunge into a pile of freshly raked leaves. You also really want to put on a sweater and a hayride feels absolutely essential.

This album is fall. It’s 13 tracks packed full of crisp air and colorful leaves and golden sun. Even without some rather overt lyrical nods in songs like “Harvest Time,” it’s clear The Clientele made a conscious effort to bottle and sell the very best parts of autumn.

Track 4, “Never Anyone But You,” pairs warm 60s organ sounds with sunny guitars and Alasdair MacLean’s breathy croon to create a tune that’s like a perfect cross section of Wes Anderson’s brain. It’s equal parts teenage confusion, muted color palettes and intelligent tweed sport coats with suede elbow patches.

Make no mistake, this isn’t a silly concept album that succeeds only as some heady art project. It’s an incredibly satisfying work that just happens to make you feel like picking apples and snuggling under blankets.

Bonfire is not without its shortcomings, of course. Tunes like “Sketch” and “Share the Night” break up the sleepy pace and in all honestly, do a disservice to the rest of the album. The complicated bass grooves and free form lyrical deliveries aren’t bad, they just feel out of place on an otherwise pleasantly woozy record. 

As the Northern Hemisphere continues to slowly shed the final remnants of summer and we all slip further into flannel and carved pumpkins, Bonfire on the Heath is this year’s definitive soundtrack to it all.     


REVIEWED BY ALEC BRINEGAR
ALEC'S FAVORITE TRACKS: "Harvest Time" • "Graven Wood" • "Bonfires on the Heath"

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