It’s been quite a while since I last saw Teenage Fanclub. I was quite late in coming to them, initially dismissing them as a Britpop band (without ever having heard any of their stuff). It was when I moved in with a friend Martin circa ‘99, where ‘Grand Prix’ was on heavy rotation on the living room stereo, that I realised what I’d been missing. It was a joy to explore their earlier LPs – Great songs and great guitar work with beautiful harmonies. ‘Howdy!’ arrived soon after and I was hooked. We saw them a few times around that time but then they seemed to fall off the music scene for a while.
Hearing ‘Sparky’s Dream’ ‘Star Sign’ and ‘I Need Direction’ tonight put a huge smile on my face. I’m glad to report that all the new stuff sounds as good as the old stuff with ‘Baby Lee’ striking a chord with me. The only down side was the blinding lights that hit the audience far too often – I was expecting having my ears assaulted, not my eyes.
Having 3 song writers in the band means they only have to write 3 or 4 songs each and they have an LP – pity they don’t do it a bit more often.
Bob the Chiropodist