After a long hiatus, Scotland's Trashcan Sinatras are a "proper, old-fashioned band"
Nearly a decade has passed since the Trashcan Sinatras recorded an album. The last time the Scottish band released a disc, "A Happy Pocket" in 1996, its namesake Frank Sinatra was still alive.
Even more time has passed since the literate, melodic Trashies released an album in the United States. The last Trashcan project to hit Stateside was the band's sophomore effort, 1993's "I've Seen Everything."
The Trashcan Sinatras could almost have been filed in the "where are they now" category along with Teenage Fanclub, My Bloody Valentine and a number of other United Kingdom bands that appeared to have bright futures in the early '90s, only to fade away.
"It was just a funny situation for us," guitarist Paul Livingston said while calling from Los Angeles. "Our record company (Go! Discs) went bust. We didn't mean to do nothing. We just fell into it. Now and again we saw each other, but we just didn't play music much. It got to the point that I forgot that I was in a band. So much time passed and we just weren't too productive. I spent years on the dole doing much of nothing up until last year. We were all kind of bored."
So bored, in fact, that the group — which also includes vocalist Frank Reader, guitarist John Douglas, bassist Davy Hughes and drummer Stephen Douglas — decided to reconvene. The quintet quickly found that there was still a spark and it recorded "Weightlifting," arguably the group's finest effort to date.
"Weightlifting" is reminiscent of classic Trashcan Sinatras material. It sounds like 1990 all over again — that's when the band released its debut disc, "Cake."
"Weightlifting" is less modern and more classic, however. In other words, don't expect drum loops or samples. Simplicity and plenty of pretty hooks buoy the tracks.
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"We decided to work in a familiar manner," Livingston said. "We're a proper, old-fashioned band, and that's how we would like to stay. We work really hard at writing songs. That's what the core of this band is about, not the sound of the day."
Trashcan Sinatras, who will perform Monday at The Saint in Asbury Park, really impressed the audience during a recent performance at a Stuff magazine party in Austin, Texas.
"We can still make it work live," Livingston said. "If we couldn't do it in front of a crowd, we wouldn't be back making music. But we're in a good space now. We have quite a connection together. We all grew up together in this band. There is a connection and a love that we have for each other. It's something that's obvious."
According to Livingston, the indie rockers won't take such a hiatus after they finish their tour.
"We're in a completely different state now than we were in the '90s," Livingston said. "Back then we had some money from the label but it was a complicated situation and we weren't as happy as we are now. Right now, we're absolutely penniless, but we're happy and that's all that matters."
Trashcan Sinatras are at The Saint in Asbury Park on Monday.
TRASHCAN SINATRAS WITH MYNUS KRIS
WHEN: 8 p.m. Monday
WHERE: The Saint, 601 Main St., Asbury Park
COST:$12
CONTACT: (732) 775-9144
Originally appeared in the Asbury Park Press |
