🎼40. Teenage Fanclub "Bandwagonesque" (1991) 🇬🇧
Hello!
This time, I will be reviewing the 2nd album "Bandwagonesque" by the band that churns out great melodies praised by the likes of Kurt Cobain of NIRVANA and the Gallagher brothers of oasis, Teenage Fanclub! Teenage Fanclub On Spotify, the money bag is white 💰
Highlights of the album
This work is the first album released after Teenage Fanclub moved to the famous British indie label "Creation Records" (in reality, there is also a legendary, immediately discontinued album called "The King"), and it is the most famous work in their career. A characteristic of Teenage Fanclub is that
each member can write, compose, and sing their own songs, but conversely, it is hard to tell who the frontman is, and since they don't have charismatic looks or behavior, they tend to give a more understated impression compared to other bands. However,
the melodies they create are all catchy, peaceful, and beautiful, and once you get hooked, they are full of great melodies that you will become addicted to. 1991, the year this work was released, was a year when many wonderful albums that became icons of the era were released, such as NIRVANA
's "Nevermind" and My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless", but it is a masterpiece that won 1st place in the "20 Best Albums of 1991" project by the American music magazine "SPIN"
1. The Concept
Guitarist/vocalist Norman Blake composition. It starts with a noisy guitar sound, but the melody is beautiful and filled with melancholy; personally, it is my favorite song on this album. I don't find the slow progression in the latter half boring at all, and it is a song where you can enjoy the laid-back atmosphere. In the record store scene of the music video, you can spot
Primal Scream
's "Screamadelica" and My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless", which were released from the same Creation label around the same time.
2. Satan
A song credited to the band. It is an instrumental track lasting just over a minute, characterized by distorted guitar sounds and a hurried, anxious melody.
3. December
Bassist/vocalist Gerard Love composition. Like many songs on this album, it features distorted guitars and beautiful melodies, but perhaps because it was written by bassist Gerard, the bassline is also beautiful, and the strings in the latter half are effective, making it a charming track.
4. What You Do to Me
Song written by Norman
I thought it would be a pop and sweet good-melody number, but the guitar sound is also clearly audible, making it a perfect 100-point track as rock music as well
It's a catchy, addictive number that repeats the same phrase despite being a short song of less than two minutes.
5. I Don't Know
Guitarist and vocalist Raymond McGinley written song. A pleasant-sounding number with noisy guitars and a slightly lonely melody sung in harmony.
6. Star Sign
Song written by Gerard.
A lighthearted number that starts with over a minute of guitar noise, only to suddenly break into a refreshing, youthful pop melody.
I think this band has many numbers that follow the format of doing something experimental at the beginning of the song, and then having a classic pop melody for the rest.
7. Metal Baby
Song written by Norman.
A track with a melody that feels nostalgic and becomes addictive.
The lyrics "Metal Baby" in the chorus also get stuck in your head.
8. Pet Rock
Song written by Gerard.
Unlike the previous songs, this is a number where the first half features a pop, beautiful melody, and the second half becomes lively as various instruments join in.
9. Sidewinder
Co-written by Gerard and drummer Brendan O'Hare.
A number with a particularly gentle impression on this album, featuring pop melodies and acoustic guitar sounds.
10. Alcoholiday
Song written by Norman.
A heartbreak song with beautiful choruses and a title that catches the eye, literally translating to intoxicated vacation.
Teenage Fanclub has many songs about heartbreak and worries, but they are not too negative and feel like they are there for you, which is one of the things I love about the band.
11. Guiding Star
Song written by Gerard.
A track characterized by a calm melody and noisy guitar sounds.
12. Is This Music?
Song written by Gerard.
It is an instrumental track that starts with a heavy bass sound to close out the album, but the melody is characterized by an uplifting guitar sound, making the aftertaste of the album refreshing.
Afterword
Teenage Fanclub is personally one of my favorite bands among those signed to Creation, and I love their other albums as well, but I think this work is a masterpiece that stands a head above the rest in the band's career, successfully mixing the noisy guitars that were popular at the time with good melodies derived from The Beatles.
The fact that all four members are involved in songwriting is also an interesting part of this band. While the core of creating good melodies is the same for all four, there are slight differences in the melodies they create, making them a band with a wider range of songs and one you won't get tired of listening to, compared to bands that rely on a single frontman for songwriting.
In the UK, they were signed to Creation and were senior to Oasis, so Noel and Liam of the Gallagher brothers also respected the band, with them stating that they were "the second best band in the world (of course, the first is Oasis)". Also, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, who was on the same label in the US, also said in his own book that "TFC is the best band in the world", which shows that they were popular with other bands of their generation.
Since both groups had frontmen, Noel and Kurt, who mainly wrote the songs, I feel like they were attracted to Teenage Fanclub, which produced various good melodies as a team, something they didn't have themselves.
Even after this album, Teenage Fanclub continued their system of everyone spinning good melodies together, despite member changes.
Thank you for reading until the end!