Teenage Fanclub ‎– Howdy! CD

‘Howdy!’ demonstrates that Teenage Fanclub have attained such an imperious mastery of their one musical trick – Beach Boys, Big Star, Beatles, Bacharach, Byrds, Badfinger and Band imitated, assimilated and expanded – that you can’t even be bothered to get annoyed with them anymore. The liberated sound of ‘Howdy!’ shows that, in the moments of self-doubt that followed their untimely wake-up call, they’ve been out and seen the world, but like the bit where they started off best. There are plenty of moments of Fanclub genius – the triumphant ‘The Town And the City’, the majestic ‘Straight And Narrow’ and the cathartic voyage of ‘My Uptight Life’.

They leave quietly. ‘If I Never See You Again’ is a delicate piece of deadpan acoustic brilliance. It sounds like the big farewell but of course it’s not. ”We’ve only got a lifetime,” trills Norman Blake barely supressing a sly smile. The beauty of going nowhere is that you’ve got all the time in the world to get there. And of course, once you’ve made it, you can just sit back and relax.

Label: Columbia

Country: UK & Europe

Media Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+)
Sleeve Condition: Near Mint (NM or M-)

Plays great but has some superficial marks