STAGE BUZZ:
T
By Jeff Elbel
he third album by Glasgow, Scotland
alt-rockers Teenage Fanclub was a
breakthrough that earned enduring
devotion from a small but loyal clutch of
power-pop fans. Bandwagonesque rocketed
into late 1991 with big, buzzy and cathartic
electric guitars serving beautifully laconic
pop melodies. The chaotic but sublime
sound suggested intermingled loves for
Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, the
Raspberries and Big Star. The quartet
might have ascended to the greater heights
attained by peers ranging from the
Lemonheads to the Gin Blossoms in 1992,
had the album and favorite cuts like “Star
Sign” not arrived just as worldwide rock
audiences were being swept away by the
angsty wave of tour-mate Nirvana’s
Nevermind.
Although the band members would
surely have enjoyed any well-deserved
stardom, things may have at least worked
out for the best interests of the band’s core
audience. Teenage Fanclub has outlasted
pop trends in grunge, slacker pop, Britpop
and other fleeting fashions while steadily
producing memorable work and playing
shows for euphoric crowds around the
world. The band’s guitar-based sound has
become less howling and unhinged since
Thirteen, but the emotions, melodies, and
pop hooks have only gotten bigger en
route to songs from 2016’s Here. Sources
like the Byrds and Badfinger gradually
became dominant in the band’s writing,
resulting in confections like the buoyant
“I’m in Love,” dreamy “Steady State” and
harmony-laden “The Darkest Part of the
Night.”
On Here track “Live in the Moment,”
guitarist and vocalist Norman Blake
described growing accustomed to rolling
with life’s changes. “Feel good not know-
ing / What tomorrow and what’s follow-
ing may bring / Need only think about
today,” he wrote. The song proved pre-
scient for the band when founding bassist
Gerard Love decided to retire at the end of
20 illinoisentertainer.com march 2019
2018 after almost 30 years of service.
Followers were understandably sad to see
a key songwriter with credits including
UK #17 hit “Ain’t That Enough” make his
exit during an otherwise celebratory tour
last fall, but even the most ardent listeners
seem to accept Love’s decision as a reason-
able one.
The band wrapped its tenure with Love
by playing a string of multi-night stands
around the UK. The shows featured full-
album performances from the band’s cele-
brated run on Creation Records including
Bandwagonesque, Thirteen, Grand Prix, Songs
from Northern Britain, and 2000’s Byrds-
and-Beach Boys-influenced Howdy! For
their upcoming show at Chicago’s Metro,
the quintet is expected to draw from a sim-
ilar well in addition to introducing fresh
material.
Despite suffering the recent departure,
the group is already firing on all cylinders
with a retooled line-up. Returning to
Metro alongside Blake will be bedrock
singer-guitarist Raymond McGinley and
veteran bandmates Francis MacDonald
and Dave McGowan. As McGowan shifts
from keyboards to cover Love’s former
bass post, the group will be augmented by
new keyboardist Euros Childs.
Teenage Fanclub has wasted no time
settling into the new dynamic. The song-
writing triumvirate may be reduced to a
two-headed monster, but the band’s
February release of a video for new single
“Everything’s Falling Apart” reflects its
wry sense of humor and bodes well for the
future. The song chugs, chimes and shim-
mers, echoing the hallmarks that have
made the band beloved for three decades.
The romantic and regretful “Everything’s
Falling Apart” is the first song to be
released from recent recording sessions in
Hamburg, Germany for a new album.
Teenage Fanclub perform at Metro (3730 N.
Clark, Chicago) on Wednesday, March 6.
For tickets, visit: www.metrochicago.com