MERGE RECORDS 9th October 2026
Teenage Fanclub progress in the gentlest way and the path from their debut to here is one of incremental change. Long-term fans will find this album similar in tone to the 2023 release ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’. It’s a gentle set of thoughtful songs, delivered at a relaxed pace. Harmonies are lovely and tunes pleasing, drifting in places towards West Coast singer-songwriter territory.
Opening with the novelistic ‘There Was You’, a warm story of the saving power of love and loyalty, the stage is set for a satisfying set of songs some way from the edge of rocking. Add fuzzed up guitar and the affable plod of some songs would pass muster on a Crazy Horse track or indeed, Bandwagonesque; however Teenage Fanclub would rather have the sound of acoustic guitars and Dave McGowan’s burbling bass, making this their own distinctive sound. There are still individualistic interjections, like the reed organ on ‘Over and Over’ making me think of early Pink Floyd pastorals or the country slide and quiet guitar solo of ‘Be With You Tonight’.
The band took time out on the quiet island of Great Bernera and the setting emphasises the unity of vision and singularity of sound the band has, fusing long-term members Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley with more recent members, one of whom has ‘only’ been in the group for seven years (longer than many band’s careers). 1990 saw the release of the first album, A Catholic Education, and in the subsequent thirty-six years, there’s been a dozen albums, none rushed and all gestated till fully baked, this one too being brought to the band’s standards before release.
The title track is another one that conjures up a back-story, one of a discombobulated and distracted wanderer, adrift in their life. Despite the dark clouds behind the sunny harmonies of this song, the album is a reflective amble through the different places life can take us. Perhaps it’s the age of the main movers, but I hear a sense of calm reflection and a few wry smiles in this set of vignettes. “Those ‘dare to dream’ sentiments are kind of ridiculous”, Norman Blake explains, “I don’t think the world works that way.” Raymond McGinley adds, “We can still be cheerful and optimistic in the face of things not being great”.
As we approach the end of the album, we return to love and its powers. ‘Day In The Sun’ sees the loved one as a place of safety, somewhere not to walk away from. ‘Young And Wise’ is a closely sung, warmly played, bittersweet hug of a song, looking back on a youthful love that made a paradise.
Ross McGibbon