Teenage Fanclub – Songs From Northern Britain

 

Teenage Fanclub – Songs From Northern Britain

By

Jesse E. Mullen

 

Scotland is a very green country. Look at any movie, play, or photograph set there, and you are bound to see a lush landscape. It is a symbol used by many artists – to contrast a bitter struggle with beautiful scenery.

Teenage Fanclub were just the latest to use that symbol. The cover to their 1997 album Songs From Northern Britain showed a dense green field in the Scottish countryside. But the music is just as evocative of that image.

As a band, Teenage Fanclub’s sound can be described as bright jangly guitars mixed with power pop overtones. The Bellshill quartet were primarily based around the songwriting of singer/guitarist Norman Blake, singer/bassist Gerard Love and singer/guitarist Raymond McGinley. Their harmonies were a hallmark of their sound until Love left in August 2018.

After releasing albums like 1991’s Bandwagonesque and 1995’s Grand Prix to rave reviews, fans had to be wondering – could they continue the hot streak? And how would their sound change?

As it turns out, the album was no big departure. But there were subtle changes. Blake kicks the album off in top form with “Start Again.” The track is much like other Teenage Fanclub openers – a strong melody line, an anthemic chorus – but with small differences.

They sound mellower and slightly slower here than on previous openers “The Concept” and “About You.” The song also uses a farfisa organ to great effect. It evokes British sounds of the past without sounding retro. A should’ve-been summertime hit.

“I Don’t Want Control of You” is another romantic Blake tune. But this one is almost antithetical to the typical relationship song. In the lyrics, Blake extols the virtues of healthy boundaries in a relationship. There is a sweetness in the music which matches perfectly with the lyrics – the three-way harmonies give the track a breezy, summery feel.

Gerard Love delivers two excellent tunes in “Ain’t That Enough” and “Take The Long Way Round.” Both are centered around relationships and enjoying the simple pleasures of summertime. “Ain’t That Enough” deals with basking in the sunshine with someone special, while “Take The Long Way Round” evokes images of a leisurely Sunday drive.

McGinley delivers a gem of his own near the end. “Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From” manages to be both melancholy and sweet with minor key guitars and McGinley’s romantic croon.

Perhaps Blake’s “Winter” is the strongest track on the album. Breezy harmonies and major key guitars elevate the chorus to another level. The song is very reminiscent of ‘60s guitar pop, as well as the sounds Big Star channeled in the ‘70s.

The irony is that Blake writes the would-be feel good hit of the summer and titles it “Winter.” The cheery melody is contrasted with lyrics about the summer ending. This contrast of melancholy lyrics and a bright melody is well worn territory. But Blake makes it sound fresh here.

Because Teenage Fanclub is uniformly excellent, it is difficult to get a consensus on what their “best” album is. However, a strong case can be made for Songs From Northern Britain. It’s breezy sounds evoking the spring and summer days when Britpop ruled the charts, and festival bills were stacked with talent.

Creation/1997