TEENAGE FANCLUB – EVERYTHING FLOWS (PAPERHOUSE RECORDS)

TEENAGE FANCLUB – EVERYTHING FLOWS (PAPERHOUSE RECORDS)

There are few singles of the indie genre that are warmer than this song. With this song the Fannies are able to muster a genuine sense of longing with lines such as “I think about it everyday.”

It is perhaps this element that is most endearing about the music of Teenage Fanclub, how it feels prematurely old age but at the same time comforting and reassuring, still cool in the least way likely. Their songwriting is top notch able to convey the most earnest of feelings while accompanied by the perfect match of music that serves their personas spot on. Regardless of all the Big Star and The Byrds snipes this is one of the most genuine acts ever to grace the independent genre, all with skills to match.

“Everything Flows” has come to represent their set closing track in recent years. The structure of the song seems to take on two strides as the opening declarations of sensible reminiscence later move onto a prolonged but even tempered close that is perfect for extending and dragging out in a live setting. This song never loses it and neither do the minds attached.

One of their earliest singles the song comes with a wicked set of b-side tracks including a warped drum machine wig out by the name of “Primary Education” that sounds like Pavement subdued and stuck in a foreign country. Following comes “Speeder” which is a wonky instrumental run out that could follows the same cue as the previous track and could easily have been Mudhoney playing with children’s instruments. The final track is a Neil Young cover in the form of “Don’t Cry No Tears”, which at the end of the day is what they are good at.

The other cover on this record is that artwork from Jad Fair that makes up the sleeve. Tremendous stuff.

Thesaurus moment: toasty.

Teenage Fanclub

Paperhouse Records

TEENAGE FANCLUB – THE KING (CREATION RECORDS)

TEENAGE FANCLUB – THE KING (CREATION RECORDS)

Every great band should have a release like this lingering in the background of their catalogue that stands out like a sore thumb in comparison to the rest of their arsenal.

The King is a record that feels like a band getting into the studio for a session with a producer for a weekend looking to jam out and capture a particular sound. The producer in question was Don Fleming a man whose alternative rock and grunge credentials were high having played in the fizzy Gumball and producing Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr.

Released in 1991 and perhaps best known for the fun cover of Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” the nine song album has taken on something of a negative reputation over the years being recorded/released to serve as contractually obliged recording to get them to onto Geffen Records in the USA. In the UK it was deleted from their back catalogue on the day of release although Creation still managed to press up enough copies before the deletion to make it a financially sound release.

Taken on the merits of the music however I am actually a very big fan of this record. With raging feedback the album opens with the instrumental “Heavy Metal 6” that comes doused in Stooges-esqe saxophones as the band sounds like a combination of the Drop Nineteens and Jesus & Mary Chain. The aptly named “Mudhoney” then follows with more explicit and meandering Stooges leanings and a distinct lack of vocals.

Another cover version occurs in the form of “Interstellar Overdrive” as Pink Floyd’s finest material gets the grunge rock treatment to great success. Later the most extended jam comes in the form of “Opal Inquest” that serves as a true adventure into modern psychedelia very much resembling the more abstract and lengthier moments of Mudhoney in full flow.

The Byrds and Big Star feel like the furthest things from the band’s mind as this selection of songs were ungracefully churned out lending a whole different face to Teenage Fanclub, one that has never been seen or heard since. A loss.

Thesaurus moment: outcast.

Teenage Fanclub
Creation Records