A Labyrinth of Emotions

Minotaur. The title itself is enough to send you a shiver down your spine. For those of you who aren't familiar with Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man, who was kept prisoner in a labyrinth and fed with human beings. He was born from a cursed love his mother had for a bull. And suddenly you feel the urge to look at The Clientele and ask them "Guys, is everything alright with you?"

Now, some would say The Clientele are famous for their awesome guitar sounds and Alasdair MacLean's vocals, but it seems too much of a cliché and does not expresses properly the feeling you get when you listen to their finest releases. And this EP seems to be one of them. Is a story about human emotions, a story about fear, and the fact that they called one of their songs Paul Verlaine gives you a very good idea about the main theme.

The hidden tragedy of the ancient Greek myth reveals itself right from the first track with lyrics about the usefulness of hope. MacLean's words "It's not happening, oh no... I am the Minotaur" make so much more than one thousand metaphors. The instrumentals are calm, pop-friendly, with deep guitar sounds, gentle violins and dreamy piano sounds. It will make you think of at least one of the songs as the-pop-anthem-of-the-week (my sincere bet is on As the World Rises and Falls).

However, the calmness is only apparent – it is like a sea that hides a storm deep inside it and does not show any sign on the surface, just as the labyrinth didn’t show any sign of the beast hidden inside. There are two tracks that appear as completely different from the rest of the album. The first one is No. 33, on which Mel Draisey gives a really high measure of her musical talent on piano. After that comes the strangest moment of the album, The Green Man. It can't be actually called a song. It's just five minutes of MacLean speaking, with a sound in background that reminds you about the strong blow of the wind in the winter. The story might not be properly understood from the first listening, but the feelings of angst and fear cannot be denied. It's freaky. The last track, suggestively called Nothing Here Is What It Seems, restores the calmness and does nothing but prove you that if there is a band born to specialize in the conflict between human emotions, then that band has to be called The Clientele.

Minotaur is one of those albums that make you deeply fall in love with them and seem to be especially created to make you search for all the superlatives you know and maybe even invent some new ones. If the word “gem” just crossed your mind, don’t worry. You are not the only one.


*photo courtesy of The Clientele's official site