It’s dead easy to list the most obvious influences of Scotland’s Teenage Fanclub. He’s read them so often, founding band member Norman Blake can rattle them off at the drop of a tam: Big Star, Byrds, Beach Boys. Pigeonholing the Fanclub’s melodic-yet-rocking sound becomes a little more dicey. Though most of the cornerstones of power pop—Posies, Flamin’ Groovies, Matthew Sweet, Velvet Crush, Tommy Keene, Alex Chilton—don’t think much of the label, it seems to be the only one that’s stuck. If they keep this up for another five years or so, Teenage Fanclub, which opened for business in the mid-’80s when Blake met fellow Scots Raymond McGinley and Gerard Love, might surpass the Groovies for career longevity, a career award that usually precedes only the obit in a band’s publicity dossier. And yet, the group’s new album, Shadows (Merge), is as vital as anything TFC has ever cut, adding fuel to the proposition that some artists come up with their best work after turning 40. Blake and Love will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with Blake.
Gerard: If you’ve never heard Tenniscoats before, you should really check them out. They’re fantastic. I first heard their music around seven years ago when a friend played me their The Ending Theme album, and I was instantly charmed. I had “Mou Mou Rainbow” and “In My Blood River” on constant repeat for weeks. Based in Tokyo, Saya and Takashi Ueno are an exceptionally talented, extremely creative partnership; their beautiful music evokes a slow evolution. Hypnotic and gently psychedelic in places, it’s a journey woven in Saya’s perfect and pure voice and Takashi’s instinctive and magical guitar playing. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them play in Glasgow many times over the years. They are always amazing. Much loved in our city. Our good friends the Pastels made a really nice record with Tenniscoats called Two Sunsets; Norman and I had the honour of playing on a few of the tracks, including a reworking of the wonderful “Mou Mou Rainbow.”
Video after the jump.
