The Witching Hour Sessions – 08/02/2018
Teenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub were formed in Bellshill, Lanarkshire in 1989. The band consists of Norman Blake, Raymond McGinley, Gerard Love, Francis MacDonald and Dave McGowan with songwriting duties shared equally among Blake, McGinley and Love. In concert, the band usually alternate among the three songwriters (who all sing lead vocals on their own songs) giving equal playing time to each one’s songs.
Although often pegged as alternative rock, the group have incorporated a wide variety of elements from various music styles in their songs. After first gaining acclaim for a dense, melodic sound that anticipated the coming emergence of grunge, the band spent the remainder of their career as torch bearers for the power pop revival, unparalleled among their generation for both their unwavering adherence to and brilliant reinvention of the classic guitar pop. Their sound is reminiscent of bands like the Beach Boys and the Byrds and Badfinger, and their seventies counterparts Big Star.
As of September 2016, the band have released ten studio albums.
Tonight’s listening:
1 – Bandwagonesque (1991)
The gold standard of the early-’90s power pop revival, in its own way ‘Bandwagoneque’ was as much a benchmark as contemporary records like ‘Nevermind’ and ‘Loveless’.
2 – Grand Prix (1995)
‘Neil Jung’ and ‘I’ll Make It Clear’ are simply perfect pop songs but ‘Grand Prix’ is ultimately the product of a band at the peak of its collective powers, not as much a landmark as ‘Bandwagonesque’ but every bit as good on its own terms.
3 – Songs From Northern Britain (1997)
‘Songs From Northern Britain’ is a gentle and subtle and a resolutely beautiful album that will most likely stand as Teenage Fanclub’s masterpiece.