Formed back in 1989, Teenage Fanclub are certainly a band with a lot of history and, with their newest release since 2008 and tenth studio album Here, it is clear this band still have a lot more to say and hold a well deserved place as being legends of Scottish alternative rock.

As a sold out Concorde 2 begins to fill, tonight’s support comes from fellow Glaswegians, Spinning Coin, who bring with them some incredibly trance-inducing sounds alongside some soft vocals which effortlessly flutter over the melodies. Yet the Spinning Coin boys have a twist up their sleeve, just as soon as the trance begins, the track ‘Magdeline’ provides some seriously powerful solos which screech through the room and take a far harsher tone, including some extremely strained vocals. I would argue Spinning Coin are a band with a lot of potential in the somewhat near future and are definitely worth checking out, however a little bit more time and experimentation may be needed for these guys to truly unlock their full potential.

The time for the main act has arrived. Vocalist and guitarist Norman Blake graces us with a quick “Thank you”, then begins to blast an insane level of energy in the form of ‘Start Again’. Immediately, the room is filled with the buzz of ecstatic guitar, pounding drums and the warming vocal comfort from Norman’s tones. As soon as the song comes to an end the crowd burst into deafening applause, it is incredibly clear that these fans are extremely dedicated to this band and have absolutely no shame in hiding it!

Norman announces they are going to play a few from the new album, an audience member screams “It’s amazing!”. Yet as the first note of ‘Hold On’ is played the band all pause and burst into laughter following a false start, to which Norman quickly replies “See, it’s not that great!”, leaving the room in an equal state of laughter. Norman’s sense of humour is well known amongst Teenage Fanclub fans, yet tonight the level of speech is somewhat disappointing. Norman even notes they have a lot to get through so will keep the banter to a minimum, however this instead leaves the set feeling somewhat rushed. It would have been far more engaging to perhaps drop just one to two tracks in replacement for a more humanistic approach whereby we get to really know who these guys are.

That being said, the vocals and harmonies from each member tonight are exquisite. Bassist and vocalist, Gerard Love, in particular holds an outstanding voice. His tones hold a more lighter mood than that of Norman’s yet they compliment each other perfectly whilst in no way compromising on some pretty bouncing bass lines.

As the opening riff of ‘Don’t Look Back’ from the 1995 album, Grand Prix, begins the entire room leaps into even more of a frenzy than before, the riffs fill the room and morph it into an almost biblical setting, with this track acting as the Lords Prayer. Everyone knows every lyric and is more than happy to yell them to their heart’s content. This becomes an incredible trend for the evening, almost any track from Grand Prix becomes unmistakably anthem like and clearly holds enormous amounts of sentiment to the audience above any of the band’s other material. Teenage Fanclub have clearly realised this and thus they include a nice variety of the album with numbers such as ‘About You’ and of course the famous ‘Sparky’s Dream’ without the album becoming too overpowering.

The choice of instrumentation too keeps the sound interesting throughout the duration of the evening, the inclusion of subtle organ keys and the ringing chimes of a glockenspiel add a surprising amount of depth to the tracks and put a nice twist on even some of the more traditional songs. Tonight’s encore too comes in a surprising form of ‘Everything Flows’, a track from the band’s first album, A Catholic Education, and Norman states the number holds an awful lot of meaning to the band and it is a rare occasion they choose to use it, a definite special moment for any die hard member of the Fanclub.

Overall, Teenage Fanclub are an interesting band. It is true their newer material arguably holds somewhat less edge than that of their older albums, but I would argue that Teenage Fanclub are still a band who still have an awful lot more to say to the world. These musical geniuses still hold vast significance over the alternative scene today and are likely to for many more years to come.
Ben Walker

Read our review of Here here: brightonsfinest.com/html/index.php/12-music/1729-teenage-fanclub-here
Read our interview with Teenage Fanclub here: brightonsfinest.com/html/index.php/spotlight/1681-teenage-fanclub

Website: teenagefanclub.com
Twitter: twitter.com/TeenageFanclub
Facebook: facebook.com/teenagefanclub.music