Endless Arcade

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Endless Arcade
Endless Arcade.jpeg
Studio album by
Teenage Fanclub
Released30 April 2021 (2021-04-30)
StudioClouds Hill Studio, Hamburg, Germany
GenreAlternative rock, jangle pop[1]
Length44:24
Label
  • PeMa (Europe)
  • Merge (North America)
ProducerTeenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub chronology
Here
(2016) 		Endless Arcade
(2021)
Singles from Endless Arcade
  1. "Home"
    Released: November 11, 2020
  2. "I'm More Inclined"
    Released: January 25, 2021
  3. "The Sun Won't Shine On Me"
    Released: March 15, 2021

Endless Arcade is the eleventh full studio album by Scottish band Teenage Fanclub. Released on 30 April 2021, it is the band's first record since the departure of co-founder Gerard Love in late 2018 and their first with former Gorky's Zygotic Mynci member Euros Childs. The album's title comes from co-founder Raymond McGinley's song of the same name, with McGinley envisioning an endless arcade as "a city that you can wander through, with a sense of mystery, an imaginary one that goes on forever. When it came to choosing an album title, it seemed to have something for this collection of songs."[2]

Background[]

After parting ways with Gerard Love following a series of late 2018 shows in which Teenage Fanclub performed the five recently-reissued albums they had recorded for Creation Records during the Nineties in full,[3] the band regrouped in January 2019 with long-time member Dave McGowan switching over from playing keyboards and guitar to fill the bassist position vacated by Love. Euros Childs – who also collaborates with Teenage Fanclub co-founder Norman Blake in the side project Jonny – joined the band on keyboards.

When they started gathering material for a new album, Blake already had a song called "I'm More Inclined" ready to be presented to the rest of the band. Following approval of the song, they soon set about recording their new album.[4]

Recording[]

In January 2019 the new-look Teenage Fanclub relocated to Hamburg, Germany, a city that they had grown to love,[5] for recording sessions at Clouds Hill Studio, a facility in which they had mixed their previous album, Here.[6] Following these sessions, they embarked on a tour of Asia, Australia, North America and Europe from February to April.[7] They would then return to Clouds Hill in late November 2019 for more recording.[8]

As the remaining ever-present members of Teenage Fanclub, Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley maintained a pragmatic outlook towards the differences in recording with the new line-up, with McGinley commenting, "With Gerry not being there…it’s different. But then Dave is on bass and Euros is there. It’s an inspiring thing!"[5] Meanwhile, according to Blake, "I think some of the playing is a bit freer and looser than on recent albums. Dave and Euros’ playing is amazing, and Francis [Macdonald] on drums is really swinging."[9]

After plans to release the album in October 2020 and go on tour for the remainder of the year fell through, Blake and McGinley used the extra time caused by the enforced postponement for further work on mixing the album in Glasgow.[5]

Release[]

On 20 February 2019, Teenage Fanclub released the first taste of their recent recording session in the form of "Everything Is Falling Apart", which was written and sung by Raymond McGinley.[10]

In March 2020 the band announced that their new album, Endless Arcade, was to be released in October to coincide with a U.K. and Europe tour the following November and December.[8] However, in June they subsequently rescheduled the tour for April and May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the album's release also pushed back ahead of the new tour dates.[11]

On 11 November 2020, Teenage Fanclub announced Endless Arcade's release date of 5 March 2021, along with the album's track listing. They also released a single edit and video for "Home", the album's opening track which was penned and sung by Norman Blake.[12]

On 25 January 2021, Teenage Fanclub released Blake's song “I’m More Inclined” as a single. They also announced that Endless Arcade’s release date had been pushed back to 30 April 2021 due to “circumstances beyond our control.” The band’s tour dates in support of the album were also postponed to September 2021 and April and May 2022.[13]

"The Sun Won't Shine on Me", another Blake-written song from the album, was released on 15 March 2021.[14]

Reception[]

Endless Arcade currently holds a 7.5/10 score on Any Decent Music?, which has conglomerated 20 reviews from various publications,[15] and according to Metacritic, another review aggregation site, a score of 79/100 – based on 18 reviewers – indicates a "generally favorable" consensus.[16]

Track listing[]

Endless Arcade track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Home"Norman Blake7:04
2."Endless Arcade"Raymond McGinley3:25
3."Warm Embrace"Blake2:07
4."Everything Is Falling Apart"McGinley4:28
5."The Sun Won't Shine on Me"Blake2:40
6."Come with Me"McGinley3:27
7."In Our Dreams"McGinley4:15
8."I'm More Inclined"Blake3:20
9."Back in the Day"Blake3:49
10."The Future"McGinley3:06
11."Living with You"Blake2:55
12."Silent Song"McGinley3:48
Total length:44:24

Personnel[]

Teenage Fanclub

Charts[]

Chart performance for Endless Arcade
Chart (2021) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 57
Irish Albums (IRMA)[18] 51
Scottish Albums (OCC)[19] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 95
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 11
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[22] 3

References[]

  1. ^ https://glidemagazine.com/254439/teenage-fanclub-offers-its-melancholic-jangle-pop-on-endless-arcade-album-review/
  2. ^ Richards, Will (15 November 2020). "Teenage Fanclub announce new album 'Endless Arcade' with single 'Home'". NME. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  3. ^ Shepherd, Fiona (17 November 2019). "Gerry Love on leaving Teenage Fanclub: "I don't feel I was the victim, I had a part to play in it"". The Scotsman. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  4. ^ Blistein, Jon (26 January 2021). "Teenage Fanclub Drop Devotional New Song 'I'm More Inclined'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c Murray, Robin (27 November 2020). "A Gradual Evolution: Teenage Fanclub in Conversation". Clash. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  6. ^ Blake, Norman (9 September 2016). "Teenage Fanclub on the making of new album Here". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  7. ^ Sigler, Gabriel (3 February 2019). "Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake on the band's revamped lineup, new music, and what they learned on the OK Computer tour". Bad Feeling Magazine. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Richards, Sam (3 March 2020). "Teenage Fanclub announce new album, Endless Arcade". Uncut. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  9. ^ Kenneally, Cerys (11 November 2020). "Teenage Fanclub announce first album in four years Endless Arcade". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  10. ^ Reed, Ryan (20 February 2019). "Teenage Fanclub Unveil New Lineup in 'Everything Is Falling Apart' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  11. ^ Baines, Huw (12 June 2020). "Teenage Fanclub Reschedule UK and Ireland Shows For 2021". Stereoboard. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  12. ^ Deville, Chris (11 November 2020). "Teenage Fanclub – "Home"". Stereogum. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  13. ^ Gallagher, Alex (26 January 2021). "Teenage Fanclub share new single 'I'm More Inclined', postpone album and tour dates". NME. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  14. ^ Murray, Robin (15 March 2021). "Teenage Fanclub's 'The Sun Won't Shine On Me' Is A Gentle Waltz". Clash. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Endless Arcade by Teenage Fanclub reviews | Any Decent Music". www.anydecentmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  16. ^ Endless Arcade by Teenage Fanclub, retrieved 2021-07-19
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Teenage Fanclub – Endless Arcade" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 7 May 2021". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Teenage Fanclub – Endless Arcade". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
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