Hello reader,
Welcome back.
Today, we’ll delve into the one and only Teenage Fanclub. Often classified as alternative rock, the group was founded in 1989 in Glasgow, Scotland, by Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar), Gerard Love (vocals, bass), and Francis MacDonald (drums). Blake, McGinley, and MacDonald were previous members of the late-80s Scottish band the Boy Hairdressers. The band emerged from the C86 scene in Glasgow, a fascinating time for UK indie music and well worth reading about in more depth if you’re unfamiliar.
Teenage Fanclub’s been influenced by great bands of the past like Big Star, the Byrds, The Beach Boys, and late 70s- early 80s Scottish jangle pop band Orange Juice, and Teenage Fanclub’s sound over the years has reminded many of Big Star, the Byrds and the Beach Boys for their use of songcraft with gorgeous harmonies, warm melodies full of hooks, guitars with fuzz and arrangements that tended to be on the sunny side of pop music. More modern bands that you may think of while listening to Teenage Fanclub include, but are not limited to, Alvvays, The New Pornographers, The Lemonheads, Sloan, Matthew Sweet, Super Furry Animals, the Jayhawks, and The Posies.
Though on their debut album, A Catholic Education (1990), which received positive reviews, the band’s sound was more raw, heavier grunge, and sludgy, distorted sound in its guitars than the later power-pop sound. The King (1991) was more lo-fi, was hastily recorded, and unsurprisingly didn’t reach the sound the band became known for. The album that was completed right before The King but released after and ended up seeing it reach 1991’s Album of the Year from Spin Magazine, overtaking R.E.M.’s Out of Time and Nirvana’s Nevermind, was Bandwagonesque, which garnered acclaim and has seen placement on many best of lists. A music appreciator and advocate for lesser-known bands, Kurt Cobain was known to call Teenage Fanclub “the best band in the world.”
Teenage Fanclub followed with Thirteen (1993), which some speculated was an homage to the Big Star song of the same name; critics originally panned it, but later positive reviews have dispelled its poor reputation. Grand Prix (1995) saw the band garner universal acclaim and placement among many best-of lists since. Along with a new drummer Paul Quinn who replaced Brendan O’Hare. The brilliantly titled Songs from Northern Britain (1997) had more hooks and a bit less acclaim, but still received positive reviews.
Teenage Fanclub opened the 2000s with Howdy! (2000), which also saw favorable reviews from critics. This is the first album with Finlay MacDonald (keyboards, programming, guitar, bass, backing vocals from 1997–2001. In 2002, they collaborated with Jad Fair to release the album Words of Wisdom and Hope. A few years later, they released a new Teenage Fanclub album, the eighth full-length, Man-Made (2005), this time teaming up with producer John McEntire.
Five years later, they released a 12-song album in which Gerard Love, Norman Blake, and Raymond McGinley each wrote four songs. The resulting album, Shadows (2010), once again had the band receiving universal acclaim from music critics. The band’s tenth studio album, Here (2016), was the last to feature Gerard Love on bass and vocals, and saw slightly less acclaim but still strong favorability. Five years passed before the band’s 2021 album, Endless Arcade, was released into the world. This album was the first with Euros Childs, who was best known for forming and performing vocals and keyboards in the Welsh and English band Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. This album received the same numeric grading as the previous release (a solid 79 to 80 out of 100) and is similar to the following one, Nothing Last Forever (2023). The band has found its consistency and groove not only in its sound but also with the music critics.
What I consider to be a unique and awesome fact of Teenage Fanclub is that all members shared lead vocals and songwriting duties until Love’s departure in 2018. In live performances, the songwriter typically performed lead vocals. The band’s current lineup is Norman Blake on guitar, lead vocals (1989–present), Raymond McGinley on guitar, lead vocals (1989–present), Francis MacDonald on drums (1989, 2000–present) and backing vocals (2000–present), Dave McGowan on bass, backing vocals (2019–present), keyboards, programming, guitar (2004–2018); and Euros Childs on keyboards, programming, backing vocals (2019–present).
And on Friday, October 9th, for your listening pleasure comes Teenage Fanclub’s newest studio album, Do Not Dare To Dream, which is out via the fabulous Merge Records.
A press release for the album shares a quote from Blake: “I’m in a good place in terms of happiness and wellbeing, and my songs on this album are really just a reflection of that. I’ve found that the easiest thing to write about is yourself. It can be quite cathartic. It’s sort of like doing your own therapy.”
It continues with a quote from McGinley, “What I want to hear is not necessarily an idealized sense of what ‘a good record’ is. I want to do something that has an identity that exists with the people, with us. I want to hear the personalities of the people involved.’
Where’d the title come from and what to expect on this album? Let’s check in with the press release one more time, “Taking its title from Blake’s wryly named ‘I Do Not Dare To Dream,’ the album gently pushes back on hollow optimism while still embracing a quietly hopeful outlook. ‘Those ‘dare to dream’ sentiments are kind of ridiculous. I don’t think the world works that way.’
Throughout Do Not Dare To Dream, Teenage Fanclub balance introspective lyricism with richly layered arrangements shaped by decades of collaboration. The songs unfold with a natural ease, drawing on acoustic textures, organ tones, and interwoven guitars to create a warm, immersive atmosphere. Reflecting on the album’s outlook, McGinley notes, ‘We can still be cheerful and optimistic in the face of things not being great.’
Recorded at Black Bay Studio on the remote Scottish island of Great Bernera, the album captures a band deeply attuned to collaboration and place. Great Bernera is the band’s most remote recording location yet, which helped the band focus on the work but also put them in a place of awe, surrounded as they were by the crashing sea and ancient ruins…
As Blake puts it, ‘I think what happens is you just move from one thing into the next and before you know it, 30 years have passed. McGinley adds: “Yeah, it’s been a while since we started doing this thing we do, but to us it feels like no time at all. In the place where we made the record, people would have been singing thousands of years ago. Life is short, but music is eternal.'” Right on. Well said.
And now for three songs of hype for both your eyes and ears. The first video is a collab between Merge Records YouTube channel and Teenage Fanclub’s YouTube channel:
The beautiful watery backdrop that opens the video transitions to live-recording footage. All within the video for the opening song, “There Was You”:
(All credits and rights to Teenage Fanclub and Merge Records)
Inside the recording studio. Check out the video for the song, “Be With You Tonight”:
(All credits and rights to Teenage Fanclub)
Back on the water and still in the studio with the video for the song “Day In The Sun”:
(All credits and rights to Teenage Fanclub)
Teenage Fanclub is back at what it does best relative to its lengthy discography of studio albums. This is their baker’s dozen, and the band still crafts beautiful melodies that rival anyone else making music today. Long-time fans of the band, and many seasoned reviewers, know what to expect. You’ll get exactly that with each release from the band as they remain a beacon of consistency. Within Do Not Dare To Dream, the songwriting remains above average, as do the vocals and the songcraft itself. The hooks are catchy at times and will generally hold your interest as you listen. The band remains tight-knit in terms of its musicianship, often allowing moments within songs for other band members to shine and stand out. Kudos.
Some listeners may find some of the songs or a select series of songs bland or uninspiring. I disagree; this is not soft rock nor elevator music that people make fun of and dismiss. Make sure you read the lyrics and listen to them, too. This will take a few passes for both the words and melodies to sink in fully. It’s worth your time. The lyrics throughout this album are deeply introspective on a variety of topics, including but not limited to the passing of time and aging. The result is a good deal of pondering and reflection that help set the album apart from those of other bands. I could see this album played year-round, and doing so would trigger a lot of emotions in a good way. Say, in a colder winter while wishing for warmer days. Or on a crisp fall or spring day.
Do Not Dare To Dream gets 4 out of 5 Scum Drops from me. While the album won’t blow you away as you crown the band the best of the year, there’s plenty to like. There’s a lot of goodness, and all things considered, it fits well within the 4 Scum Drops range of all new releases this year, which includes the 72nd-83rd percentile. I recommend adding this to your playlists and also to your collection in the formats of your choosing. Where does this album fit within the band’s discography? In the middle. In my opinion, above Howdy!
I’ll always advocate taking the time to listen to every album in its entirety. Listening to Do Not Dare To Dream will take a mere 40 minutes of your time from start to finish. Along the way, you’ll discover your own favorite songs free from the influence or bias of others. After several listens, I found the songs highlighted in green below to be my favorites on this album.
The tracklist for Do Not Dare To Dream (song length)
- There Was You (3:29)
- Tomorrow People (5:16)
- Over And Over (4:23)
- Be With You Tonight (3:31)
- The Same Air (4:09)
- I Do Not Dare To Dream (4:37)
- Take Time (3:51)
- Day In The Sun (3:11)
- Somewhere To Land (3:30)
- Young And Wise (3:07)
Total runtime: 39:04
For more, be sure to visit the band’s website, see them live at the following 2026 tour dates, and listen to more of their music via YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music. And check out their socials: Instagram and Facebook.
Thank you for reading and supporting good music.
Until next time,
Alex
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Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site, scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions and SWT Interviews. And all of our socials.
Questions, feedback, or more? Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
