Review:
“The gold standard of the early-‘90s power pop revival, in its own way Bandwagoneque was as much a benchmark as contemporary records like Nevermind and Loveless; though not the generational rallying cry of the former nor the revolutionary sonic breakthrough of the latter, Teenage Fanclub’s sophomore album nevertheless heralded the return of melody and craft, coupled with energy and spirit – hallmarks of much of the greatest rock & roll of the past, and virtues as rare as hen’s teeth in the years immediately prior to the disc’s release.” JA
“Crotchety critics complained that this Glaswegian quartet” BH with “its incandescent harmonies, lazily immediate songs, and crunching guitars,” JA “sounded too close to cult Memphis band Big Star for their own or anyone else's good, but Bandwagonesque proved that unapologetic homage can sometimes work.” BH “Bandwagonesque is in every way a product of its own time.” JA
“The thick, grungy sound of the Fannies’ debut A Catholic Education remains intact for gems like What You Do to Me (arguably the most brilliantly simpleminded love song ever penned) and the instrumental Satan.” JA
“The Fanclub’s mesh of yearning, ethereal melody and cranked, feed-backing guitars came together superbly on The Concept, Metal Baby, and the thrashing Star Sign – mini-blizzards of mellifluousness that yoked Alex Chilton to Crazy Horse and the Ramones.” BH
“The lyrics of other standout moments like [the aforementioned] ‘Star Sign’ and Alcoholiday reflect a laissez faire irony and unassuming genius even more emblematic of the moment in question.” JA “Dismiss ‘Alcholiday’ as ‘record collection rock’ if you must: it doesn’t make the track any less sublime.” BH
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