by shannon whibbs
september 22, 2004
Before there was a Coldplay, a Travis or even a Belle and Sebastian there was the Trashcan Sinatras. This five-piece Scottish band has been together since 1987 and have only released four full-length albums — three of which are currently out of print or unavailable in Canada. In fact, the last time they played this country was in 1993. The Trashcans have a cult following in North America and it got to the point where members of an online fan community actually offered to book a tour and house the band themselves if they would just come and play again.
However, all good things come to those who wait and now the Trashcans are back with their first full-length studio album in eight years, the beautifully melodic Weightlifting, and a new licensing deal through spinART and a lengthy North American tour.
"We haven't toured at length for a very good number of years, so any gigs we've played over the past six or seven years have been one-off shows or maybe two or three nights in a row, and it's kind of unsatisfying playing like that," Trashcans guitarist John Douglas explains. "There's too much pressure put on the gigs to be good and you don't let the sets breathe, so it's an exciting thing to look at a piece of paper and there's 25 shows to do."
What happened to the Trashcans a number of years ago is a sadly classic story that will be retold time and time again for future bands. Their record label got bought out. "We sort of fell through the cracks of that deal," remarks Douglas wryly.
Bad accountants, bad advice, debt and disaster nearly brought the band to a halt. It got to the point where they were living in their studio.
"We had to stay off the scene for a while," Douglas says. "That got us down — that whole period. We basically stopped answering the phone and stopped answering the door for two to three years. It was a real kick in the teeth."
What is unique about this story is the fact that the band stayed together. Every few years an EP would turn up or a few shows would be played here and there.
"We've known each other since we were young, so there was no danger of us falling out in that sense," Douglas says. "We spiritually survived by writing songs."
Pushing aside some of the darker tunes that had been written during more uncertain times, the band gathered up the more melodic, optimistic tunes from the past five or six years and wrote some newer songs for Weightlifting. The record will be released in the U.K. and Europe, with more shows to follow. But, at the moment, they are content to focus on North America.
"We enjoy it and we really, really love what we do," says Douglas. "I can't think of a better way to live."
Catch The Trashcan Sinatras on the following Canadian dates:
September 22 Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Music Hall
September 23 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
September 25 Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod's
Originally appeared on chartattack.com. |
|
by amanda factor
september 7, 2004
TRASHCAN SINATRAS - Weightlifting (Spinart/Linus)
After an eight-year absence these demure Scots — who paved the way for British wuss rockers Coldplay — are back. Traschcan Sinatras’ fourth full-length features vocalist Francis Reader cooing softly over gentle arrangements occasionally fleshed out by strings and organs. It’s all very fey, but it’s still pretty so it falls short of being a snore. To their credit, the Trashcans long hiatus hasn’t hurt their ability to write a fun Brit-pop tune. Numbers like "Got Carried Away" and "Freetime" will get you reaching for your old Travis CDs.
Originally appeared on chartattack.com. |
