Teenage Mind

Lead off single 'Foreign Land' is the opening track on Teenage Fanclub's eleventh full studio album. That track - and the rest of this beautifully rich and melodic album - is the sound of a season's end, of the last warm days of the year while nights begin to draw in and thoughts become reflective and more than a little melancholy. One of the recurring themes on the album is light, as a both a metaphor for hope and as an ultimate destination further down the road. Although the band's songwriters Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley found themselves touching on similar themes, it was pure coincidence.

A tour through the groundbreaking science behind the enigmatic, but crucial, brain developments of adolescence and how those translate into teenage behavior

'Completely compelling and powerful, and hard to put down.' Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, prize-winning author of Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain

Als Nachfolger zu "It's Saturday Night" (FVTD145) erscheint nun "Teenage Blues", eine Sammlung von Rockabilly und Hillbilly Bop Songs der Startday Custom Serie. Rock'n'Roll Fachmann Dave Penny hat 101 der besten und rarsten Singles aus den Jahren 1953-1970 vom texanischen Starday Label ausgesucht. Stardays Konzept der Custom Serie bestand darin, dass Künstler ohne Plattenvertrag gegen Vorkasse limitierte Singles über Starday pressen konnten, um ihre Konzerte bei lokalen Radiostationen zu promoten und kleine Mengen an Fans direkt abzusetzen.

Mojo Magazine is a great newspaper, but the compulsion to repeat certain genuflections sometimes tends to get on the nerves, especially when it comes to Who (number 261 of August 2015), but which shines with quintessential Britishness. However, the umpteenth cover for the performers of the song referred to in the title brings with it this CD which, subtitled '15 Tracks Of '60s Beat-Filled Teenage Mod Angst' lines up a handful of groups (almost) never rose to fame, but who well represent the spirit of their times in a sort of minor Nuggets: all English, with one exception, give life to a fluctuating program in quality, but overall very entertaining to listen to. Given the period, the common denominators are still blues and rhythm 'n' blues, albeit reworked from different points of view, as the initial Don't Bring Me Down of the only big name on the bill, namely the Pretty Things, immediately makes clear. Even closer to overseas models is Bo Street Runner, an eponymous song for a group in which a young Mick Fleetwood was a member, then we move towards sounds with a greater dose of pop starting from the revival of It's Not True by the New Zealanders Larry's Rebels.

Years after its release, Teenage Warning still crackles with the punk energy that infused it. Gang-shouted choruses and references to A Clockwork Orange confirm that the Upstarts were forerunners of Oi! and harder edged street punk. However, alongside bar-room gems like "I'm an Upstart" and "Leave Me Alone," are socially conscious compositions that give the band their identity. The most notable of these is "Liddle Towers," which recounts the death of a young man at the hands of brutal police. Perhaps that is what makes Teenage Warning such an enduring punk classic: its balance between the fun and serious, all delivered with unapologetic sneer and enthusiasm.