"You Were Robbed" features artists and bands that should have gotten much more recognition and fame than they did. Check them out now...better late than never!
Teenage Fanclub “Bandwagonesque”
1991 was a tumultuous time for music. But who was honored with Spin magazine’s poll for best album of the year? Was it Nirvana’s “Nevermind”? R.E.M.’s “Out Of Time”? No. It was “Bandwagonesque” by Teenage Fanclub. This band from Glasgow took a markedly different approach on this, their third, record. Leaving behind the dissonant fuzzy noise, they aimed for slick melodies and keen harmonies the likes of Big Star. The change in direction hits fans right in the face with the first track, “The Concept”.
As with most of the other songs on this brilliant record, Teenage Fanclub carved out a unique niche that brought in the grungy noise we craved at the time and combined it with supersweet 70s bubblegum pop. Another fine example of this is the amazing ballad, “December”.
Bringing in their love of 60s groups like The Box Tops, Teenage Fanclub struck gold again with “What You Do To Me”.
And if there was any song that could capture the sentiment of the day and relationships better than “Alcoholiday”, please let me know.
Over the years, the band has released a string of follow up records and shuffled personnel, mostly to mixed reviews. While some songs shine here and there, the band hasn’t quite recaptured the magic that made “Bandwagonesque” such a perfect listening experience.
Time has shown that “Bandwagonesque” deserved to be among the ranks of Nirvana and R.E.M. for that year, but it still remains unknown to too many people. More info on the band can be found here.
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