At some point over the last 30-odd years of writing, recording, and releasing music, Alasdair MacLean got over himself.

Timelines can be fuzzy and exact moments aren’t so important anyway. What matters is that there was a point in his creative journey as the principal songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist for The Clientele in which he simply stopped caring about the perceptions of others. For years, MacLean says the battle was about dignity, about not making a fool of himself via his musical choices. Now after three full decades, together with bassist James Hornsey and drummer Mark Keen, the members of the acclaimed British pop band are unashamedly following their own interests.

In our efforts to better understand the ways in which the resistance can stymie our way forward toward our creative goals, it’s conversations like these that best illuminate the path. This is the reason why there’s so much more to learn from experienced artists with such a long and considerate career in the arts.

The idea that The Clientele are only recently completely free to chase the music they want to make sounds a bit odd to long-time fans who’ve been in love with their hazy, retropop sound for so long. But that also means beautiful things are ahead.

On this episode of The Resistance, Alasdair MacLean chronicles the journey through some of these creative lessons learned, how their most popular song only took 10 minutes to write, and the connective tissue of The Clientele’s brand new album, I Am Not There Anymore.

VISIT: The Clientele