Scottish indie band Teenage Fanclub has been together for more than 35 years now, with a few lineup changes along the way, and have just released their 13th album. It’s called Do Not Dare to Dream and it’s out now via the venerable indie label Merge Records. I’ve listened to the album a number of times to write this review and the one song I keep hanging onto is “Over and Over.”
“Over and Over” is an interesting song. It begins with a gentle vocal harmony, a bit reminiscent of 1960s Bee-Gees. Less than a minute into the song, a funky drum kicks into gear, but those vocals, they remain subdued and a bit melancholy. By the chorus, the guitar picks up a Johnny Marr quality, like The Smiths’ take on ‘60s pop in songs like “Unloveable.” All this leads to a Can-like, psychedelic outro that goes on for close to a minute. It’s a lot to pack into a song and Teenage Fanclub does it well and it’s a testament to the band’s eclecticism.
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