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Teenage Fanclub - Man-Made
Reviewed by Graeme on 31st March 2005
Quite how superstardom managed to elude Glasgow's Teenage Fanclub back in the early nineties is something of a mystery. Despite releasing a string of critically acclaimed albums, the general public never caught on, and their height of fame was a brief run of success in the US after Kurt Cobain declared them to be "the best band in the world" on the back of 1991's Bandwagonesque.
Having survived both the post-Britpop drought and the collapse of Creation Records, they're finally back (on their own "PeMa" label) with a new album of sunny guitars and Beach Boy harmonies - and what a joy it is.
Opening track "It's All In My Mind" is one of the most simple, beautiful things you'll hear all year, and the Byrds influenced guitar pop doesn't let up until the very last note some 40 or so minutes later. If you're holding out for pummelling drums and thunderous guitars then you're looking in the wrong place, but if you want a reminder of just how wonderful it is to hear songs full of the joy of life then you really can't go wrong with this.
Throw in the recent revivals of both the Pixies and the Melvins, and if you squint your eyes ever so slightly you might just believe that it's 1991 all over again.
Biffy Clyro? Never heard of them!
Rating: 8/10
Buy It Now: amazon.co.uk
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