Bandwagonesque starts off with "The Concept," a Norman Blake composition which purports to be the album's blueprint. Lyrics about a girl so unhip she likes Status Quo wink at the song's chugging guitars, which sound, basically, like Status Quo. Goofball verses bleed into the chorus's divine harmonies, with every sarky lyric apologizing for the classic rock sound.
Bandwagonesque is the sound of young rockers who want to write songs for their girlfriends, but don't want the piss taken out of them by their mates down the pub. So what you get is love songs like "What You Do To Me," and "Pet Rock" churned into sloppy grunge boogie; or the thrash of "Satan" bleeding all over the elegant "December," just to keep you from thinking they might go all soft. It's intentionally imperfect, and charming with it.
Sometimes it's better when they go all soft - Gerard Love's "December" and "Guiding Star" are both exquisite, irony-free ballads that point towards the more mature Fanclub of Grand Prix. It's "Alcoholiday," though, that really touches on the album's soul. A song about drunken impotence - both physical and emotional - it sees Norman Blake confronting the insecurities that both held the Fanclub back and made them so lovable. It's a reminder to cherish your growing pains.
If you like Teenage Fanclub, check out:
Big Star Radio City
Badfinger No Dice
Teenage Fanclub Songs from Northern Britain
Flying Burrito Brothers Hot Burritos!
-- jf
