It’s certainly a fertile time for the Scottish music scene with a host of big hitters releasing new music over recent weeks and into the coming months. The news the other week that Mogwai had secured a number one album was a great fillip and with upcoming records due to land by the likes of Glasvegas, The Fratellis and Arab Strap before the middle of April, it really is an exciting time musically. The additional news that musical heavyweights Teenage Fanclub are due to release their 10th studio album, Endless Arcade is a further feel good factor. 

The album has been put back to 30 April and will be released on the band’s own PeMa label. Having listened to the two early singles, Home and I’m More Inclined, I get a sense we could be in for something quite special. 

The lyrics centre around aspects such as unease and disconnect but countering that are shards of comfort, community and optimism. While the songs were predominately written and recorded prior to lockdown, there is a real sense that this is an album of its time.

Endless Arcade will also be the band’s first album to feature Euros Childs, formerly of the Welsh psych-rock outfit Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci on keyboards. Allied to that, the rhythm section of Dave McGowan on bass and Francis MacDonald on drums allows the band to set the bar high for songwriters Raymond McGinley and Norman Blake to explore a range of melodic harmonies and guitar-based freshness that is sure to go down well with fans. 

Commenting on the album’s inception Raymond said “When we first starting talking about getting songs together for a new album, Norman said, ‘I have one ready to go now!’—and that was ‘I’m More Inclined.’ He played it to us, we loved it, and that got us started on the whole thing that became Endless Arcade”.

Norman went on to say “We were very comfortable with each other in the studio. I think some of the playing is a bit freer and looser than on recent albums. Dave and Euros’ playing is amazing, and Francis on drums is really swinging. The whole process of making this album was very invigorating. Everyone in the band contributed a lot and the song arrangements came together really quickly. Everything felt fresh”.

The band have also announced a series of rescheduled live dates in the UK & Ireland in September 2021 (including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen) and Europe in April 2022. To pre-order Endless Arcade, order gig tickets, and keep up to date with all things Teenage Fanclub, head over to their official website here.  

John Welsh
@welshjb

Links: 

Twitter: @TeenageFanclub

Facebook: teenagefanclub