i’m one of those people who will stand by the claim that everything the clientele have done to this point has been without flaw.

at least on record.

the first time i encountered them in concert, it was breathtaking. they oozed so much confidence and restraint on stage and made the songs both intimate and epic sounding – an astounding feat for a three-piece.

the second time, there was a noticeable looseness that gave certain songs a messy, tossed off quality that they have never brought to the studio before.

well, they have, for good or for ill, brought that to bear on their latest ep, that night, a forest grew, particularly on the delightfully titled track, “george says he has lost his way in this world.” in the midst of an otherwise brilliant ’60s pop homage, alasdair maclean drops one of the worst sounding guitar solos i’ve heard on record this side of “under my thumb”. it is amazingly out of tune and almost frightening in its pisstakeness.

was this purposeful? are they simply having a laugh and letting themselves cut loose after a good decade of being strict about their approach to pop music? or did maclean seriously think that sounded good?