Teenage Fanclub - Here - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Six years used to be a lifetime in rock 'n' roll. Kids driven by the urgency of youth form bonds, plug in, play gigs, find a tag. Acclaim, exhaustion, over and out. Teenage Fanclub's early years were propelled by that kind of frantic energy (thankfully without the flameout). As outliers of the sound of young Scotland's second wave, they released five albums in their first six years together. The foundations of their national-treasure status were already laid. The tenth Teenage Fanclub LP-Here-arrives six years after the of 2010's hugely acclaimed Shadows (described by Uncut as Inchthe sound of a great group ageing gracefullyInch). Here is the work of a band entirely confident in their own craft-the consolidation of nearly three decades of peerless songwriting and almost telepathic musicianship. Recorded with the band's soundman David Henderson alongside regular drummer Francis Macdonald and keyboard player Dave McGowan in three distinctly different environments (initially at Vega in rural Provence, then at Raymond's home in Glasgow before mixing at Clouds Hill in the industrial heart of Hamburg), it's a record that embraces maturity and experience and hugs them close. As ever, song-wise the Fanclub present a textbook representation of democracy in action, the record offering four each by Blake, Love, and McGinley. From the almighty chime of opener InchI'm In LoveInch (InchWe will fade into history, I'm in love with you love... And I like your trajectory, I'm in love with you loveInch) through the ecstatic soul-search of InchThe First SightInch (InchWill I ever get to see the first sight of a heart that's true?Inch) and the paean to unerring friendship InchWith YouInch (InchI will hide with you from sadness, and bad philosophy / I will laugh with you at madness, and learned stupidityInch), Here is a collection of twelve songs about the only things that truly matter