Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
62
50 Cent
70
AFI
65
Air
70
Alice In Chains
53
Kris Allen
78
Amerie
79
Annie
76
Anti-Pop Consortium
75
Arctic Monkeys
82
Atlas Sound
77
The Avett Brothers
67
Backstreet Boys
59
Bad Lieutenant
68
Devendra Banhart
71
Lou Barlow
88
Baroness
69
Basement Jaxx
81
David Bazan
72
Beak>
84
Biffy Clyro
72
The Big Pink
95
Big Star
46
Billy Talent
75
The Black Crowes
72
The Black Heart Procession
68
Blitzen Trapper
75
BLK JKS
53
Bon Jovi
76
A.A. Bondy
65
Boys Like Girls
76
Brand New
73
Tyondai Braxton
83
Brother Ali
72
Ian Brown
75
Michael Buble
77
Built To Spill
61
Colbie Caillat
78
Califone
69
Mariah Carey
81
Brandi Carlile
72
Julian Casablancas
83
Rosanne Cash
71
Castanets
82
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
64
Exene Cervenka
79
Vic Chesnutt
81
Circulatory System
67
The Clean
84
The Clientele
72
Cold Cave
85
Converge
76
The Cribs
79
Cymbals Eat Guitars
62
Dashboard Confessional
71
Datarock
59
Dead By Sunrise
76
Dead Man's Bones
77
Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame One
73
Do Make Say Think
63
The Dodos
77
Drive-By Truckers
67
Bob Dylan
58
Echo & The Bunnymen
61
Electric Six
44
The Entrance Band
69
Fanfarlo
71
Jay Farrar And Benjamin Gibbard
63
Felix Da Housecat
68
Fink
66
Orenda Fink
79
The Flaming Lips
66
Flight Of The Conchords
79
Florence And The Machine
67
John Fogerty
83
Fuck Buttons
71
Nelly Furtado
47
Gary Go
68
Ghostface Killah
79
Girls
69
Gossip
62
David Gray
66
David Guetta
65
Calvin Harris
79
Richard Hawley
74
Mayer Hawthorne
66
Headlights
79
HEALTH
67
Hockey
67
Whitney Houston
80
Hudson Mohawke
68
Imogen Heap
59
Jack Ingram
79
Islands
74
Jamie T
65
Jay-Z
51
Jet
68
Daniel Johnston
76
Norah Jones
77
Karen O And The Kids
72
Toby Keith
69
Kid Cudi
75
Kid Sister
66
Kings Of Convenience
62
Sean Kingston
64
KISS
63
Mark Knopfler
73
Kris Kristofferson
68
KRS-One & Buckshot
76
La Roux
85
Miranda Lambert
71
Sondre Lerche
56
Juliette Lewis
62
Leona Lewis
82
Lightning Bolt
74
Little Dragon
44
Pixie Lott
83
Patty Loveless
73
Lyle Lovett
79
Lucero
75
Baaba Maal
77
Madness
84
Madonna
85
Manic Street Preachers
61
Maps
73
Mario
55
Massive Attack
57
Matisyahu
62
John Mayer
66
Tim McGraw
65
Brian McKnight
79
Mew
75
Mika
68
Amy Millan
76
Mission Of Burma
75
Molina And Johnson
80
Monsters Of Folk
66
Morrissey
76
The Mountain Goats
62
Múm
72
Muse
66
Willie Nelson
82
Nirvana
96
Nirvana
80
No Age
71
Noah And The Whale
75
Noisettes
79
Nudge
64
OneRepublic
47
Dolores O'Riordan
74
Os Mutantes
78
Osso
67
Alec Ounsworth
81
Owen
73
Paramore
78
Pastels And Tenniscoats
80
Pearl Jam
69
Jemina Pearl
65
Phish
61
Pitbull
79
A Place To Bury Strangers
79
Polvo
72
Porcupine Tree
72
Port O'Brien
79
Q-Tip
79
R.E.M.
88
Raekwon
69
Rain Machine
75
Dizzee Rascal
74
The Raveonettes
79
Real Estate
81
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
66
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
78
Russian Circles
69
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
78
Say Anything
61
Sally Shapiro
78
Shudder To Think
70
Simian Mobile Disco
58
Simple Minds
80
Slayer
61
The Slits
58
Spiral Stairs
55
Steel Panther
75
Sufjan Stevens
52
Rod Stewart
68
Joss Stone
83
Barbra Streisand
77
A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74
Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
79
The Swell Season
80
David Sylvian
83
Taken By Trees
80
Tegan And Sara
68
The Temper Trap
78
The Dutchess & The Duke
71
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
74
Them Crooked Vultures
72
Themselves
82
They Might Be Giants
66
J Tillman
69
Times New Viking
57
Tokio Hotel
67
Trey Songz
73
Frank Turner
71
The Twilight Sad
60
Carrie Underwood
56
The Used
68
Various Artists
69
Various Artists
77
The Very Best
70
Kurt Vile
65
Vivian Girls
71
Volcano Choir
73
Rufus Wainwright
78
Wale
57
Weezer
81
White Denim
76
Why?
83
Wild Beasts
80
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
69
Robbie Williams
59
Andrew W.K.
65
Wolfmother
84
The xx
79
Yo La Tengo
83
Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
52
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59
Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
The Violet Hour
Universal acclaim
Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 13 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Merge
Release Date: 08 July 2003
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
The London-based band follow their singles collection ('Suburban Light') with this, their first true studio LP, which continues their hazy, 60s-influenced sound developed in those earlier songs.
Also By This Artist: God Save The Clientele Strange Geometry
Also On The Web: Merge Records Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Nude As The News
As impressive as the early singles were, the material on The Violet Hour is often commensurate, sometimes superior.
Read Full Review >Stylus Magazine
Such are The Clientele’s gifts that its hard to believe The Violet Hour is only their debut album; few bands with more impressive vintages and prolific back-catalogues have managed to make records as touching, cohesive and deeply seeped in their own character as The Clientele have here.
Read Full Review >Flak Magazine
The understated instrumental, tempo and mood variations are what make The Violet Hour so great -- by the time you reach the closing track, you have not once been jarred out of the reverie induced by the opening title track.
Read Full Review >Splendid
It's rare that a band can recreate such a broad measure of emotions with such a soft palette.
Read Full Review >Uncut
This is surely one of the most magical pop albums of 2003. [Sep 2003, p.112]
Dusted Magazine
There probably won't be many albums in 2003 that will combine images, sounds and deepfelt emotions as well as The Violet Hour.
Read Full Review >Junkmedia
The group's cohesion is the cornerstone of the album; no one instrument stands out, while each contributes equally to the whole. And it's the trio's loose arrangements and subtle interplay that leave center stage to the thoughtful and provocative lyrics.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
To what some chortle is a limited palette, the Clientele adds some new instrumentation-- steel and Spanish guitar, field recordings, violin, chimes-- to create a dense yet rich tapestry of hazy pop, like Felt at their most impressionistic.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
Was it worth the wait? Well, it is for those who favor the kind of retro-futurist pop that recalls the mood-drenched fog of Galaxie 500 decorated with Byrdsian guitar filigrees.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
Every so often a record pops up that seems to exist in some alien world, unscathed by hipster fads and driven forward only by its own gorgeous mindset. With 'The Violet Hour', The Clientele have made a beautifully haunting album of music to take drugs to make music to take drugs to.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Suburban Light grew a little wearying because of a tonal similarity in songs recorded over a period of years, but The Violet Hour sounds deeper and more deliberate, enveloping its listeners like a fast-rolling fog.
Read Full Review >Delusions of Adequacy
The Clientele’s debut album offers consistently strong melodies, excellent playing, occasional surprise, and a taste for more.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
The Violet Hour not only perfects the gorgeously hazy pop of their previous releases, it also adds a guileless freshness to it that is completely apt for their debut album.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
The more involved the songs get, the more ethereal they end up, and not always to the good.
Read Full Review >The Guardian
Though The House Always Wins unlocks a tidal wave of frustration with its nervy guitars, the change of pace can't prevent the numbness.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
Though the songs are altogether pleasant, they more often than not fail to make a unique impression, instead fading into the background like lovely, though unchanging, scenery.
Read Full Review >Billboard
The band too rarely steps out of its dream pop mode to actually move the listener.
Read Full Review >Mojo
Some may bemoan the lack of scope in these hushed meditations.... But more will find comfort in the warm surrender of The Clientele's aesthetic. [Sep 2003, p.113]
Alternative Press
They're so busy crafting the perfect pop song... that they've made a uniformly dull album. [Sep 2003, p.102]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 13 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
samuel r gave it a3:
Too caught up in creating a general sound than decent sounding songs
Jacques Derrida gave it an8:
A virtually perfect mood album. The hazy vocals and languid guitar combine for a sound that, while not overly inventive, is distinct in its own right. Think Belle and Sebastian with more distortion. Can't wait for their next offering.
otoniel gave it a10:
This is the perfect dream pop album to make love to.
Darryl D gave it a10:
The lusty gloom is not even alieviated by the elegance of diction.
Jon gave it a 10:
I can make a strong, persuasive case for other records of the past two years being more original or radical or artistically ambitious, but I have played "The Violet Hour" more than anything else in my collection over the last 2 years. Easily. It's shimmeringly, hauntingly brilliant, and I can't get enough.
spez mcd gave it a 9:
Great, summer music
marcus l gave it a 10:
Simply an excellent work... These guys have produced a beautiful album - evocative, melodic, powerful... Wish there were more bands with such talent.
