Teenage Fanclub - Here (PeMa)

Teenage Fanclub – Here (PeMa)

There was a time when a six year gap between albums would be regarded as an astonishing delay, which only a handful of bands could pull off (well, perhaps just The Blue Nile). However, these days, this is not considered such a big deal, and Teenage Fanclub‘s old Creation label-mates My Bloody Valentine leaving 22 years between albums makes TFC’s re-emergence with Here seem positively prolific.

On this, the band’s tenth album, (not counting the collaboration with Jad Fair but including their curveball Creation debut The King), Norman Blake, Gerard Love and Raymond McGinley each contribute four songs, making it a truly democratic release.

The good news is that Here finds the band bang on form – opener ‘I’m In Love’ sets the bar high with its winning harmonies and pacy tempo, though the lyric of “We will fade into history” is delivered in such an upbeat way that it sounds like a good thing indeed. ‘Thin Air’ follows hot on its heels; it is another quick one and perhaps the track closest to the classic Bandwagonesque sound.

The centrepiece of the record, though, comes, well, pretty much in the centre (if you are streaming or CD-ing, anyway) – the stately ‘I Was Beautiful When I Was Alive’, which stops the listener in their tracks with its lovely, laid back chord sequence, vintage-sounding synthesiser (yes, really!) and intriguing lyrics giving way to an increase in tempo that leaves the track sounding like something that TOY might put out – especially if the band had left the song to its apparently original length of 20 minutes instead of cutting it down to just shy of 5.

Here comes across as a master class in songwriting, potential singles all over the place: ‘The First Sight’ or the aforementioned ‘I’m In Love’ would have probably cracked the Top 20 at one time, but it is hard to imagine that the band, who sound so blissful on the record, could care less about such trivialities.

Most Teenage Fanclub eras (except the slightly unfocused beginnings of A Catholic Education or The King) are covered across the record – ‘The Darkest Part Of The Night’, complete with swoonsome strings, sounds like something from the glorious Songs From Northern Britain while ‘It’s A Sign’ could rub shoulders with ‘Sparky’s Dream’ on Grand Prix (which Norman Blake recently, perhaps a little surprisingly, named as the best TFC album, or at least, his favourite).

The reflective moments are the real slow-burners, though – repeated listens to the likes of ‘With You’ or the beautiful ‘I Have Nothing More To Say’ reveal a band seemingly at ease with the transition into, dare it be said, middle age. Teenage Fanclub have made an honest and very endearing record on which they appear comfortable in their own skin(s) and very happy to be in one another’s company going into their next era – the band’s genuine fondness for each other truly shines through and is a thing to be cherished.

Here is released on PeMa (via Republic Of Music) on 9th September 2016.

God is in the TV is an online music and culture fanzine founded in Cardiff by the editor Bill Cummings in 2003. GIITTV Bill has developed the site with the aid of a team of sub-editors and writers from across Britain, covering a wide range of music from unsigned and independent artists to major releases.