Circumstances were much different for Scotland's Trashcan Sinatras the last time they released an album in America. The year was 1993, and alt-rock radio sandwiched the melodic strains of Britpop exports Blur and Radiohead next to the grunge grunting of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Back in those U.K.-friendly days, the Trashcans' sophomore album, "I've Seen Everything," produced a hit, "Hayfever" — with a video that even earned the band a sound mocking in an episode of MTV's "Beavis and Butt-head."
However, in the 11 years since that album's emergence, the quintet's profile in America has been decidedly lower. In fact, the Trashcans have been away from record stores here for so long, that even lead guitarist Paul Livingston can't remember when their new album, "Weightlifting" (spinART), is due on shelves.
"It comes out on … oh my, it comes out tomorrow! God," he laughs, on the eve of its release last week. "That's pretty exciting. That's quite a feat, actually. We're really proud of the fact that we managed to record that. That's really exciting."
The affable guitarist isn't exaggerating when he describes its release as nothing short of a miracle. After releasing an album in 1996 — "A Happy Pocket," which didn't come out in America — the band's deal with longtime U.K. label, Go! Discs, collapsed. To add insult to injury, the Trashcans themselves also went bankrupt — which, naturally, made it very difficult for its members to find a reason to continue making music together.
"There was a lot of meetings with boring, boring men that we had to go to together," Livingston recalls. "It was kind of like, that was the only reason we got together, was to go to these meetings. As soon as the meeting was over, everybody would just go their separate ways and go and do what they wanted to do. That lasted for a long, long time. None of us really wanted to be in a band, because we associated being in a band with like, um, depression."
Roughly three years of ennui followed, which ended with a 1999 Japan-only single, "Snow," a string of NYC area dates in 2000 and even some early sessions for "Weightlifting" that same year in Connecticut. (The album would have been released on then-Hastings on Hudson label March Records, and the band spent weekends there while working on the album.) Still, finding the momentum to tour regularly or record satisfactory tunes was difficult in the ensuing years. What exactly kept the group's faint creative muse alive?
"Mostly we kept writing songs that we really liked," Livingston explains. "Writing a song, the idea that you're just going to play it to each other is rubbish. So, somebody would write … a song I thought people had to hear. If we were writing (lousy) songs then I don't think we would have done anything. But we loved the songs, so we had to. |
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"None of us are really that ... big-headed or anything like that. It's not like, 'Look what we've done.' The feeling is more, other people should hear it because it's quality. When we were recording ("Weightlifting") ... the feeling was, 'It's OK, we don't ever have to do this again.' It made us feel a lot freer. There was no real pressure."
Amazingly enough, "Weightlifting" shows very little of the strains the Trashcans have faced. The album floats along on breezy clouds of strings, piano and vocalist Frank Reader's gorgeous croon. Sophisticated fare abounds: The soul-influenced "Leave Me Alone," the Crowded House-like title track, the midtempo power pop of "All The Dark Horses." Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake adds vocals to the lovelorn jangle daydream "Got Carried Away," while "Welcome Back" is a youthful electric stomp bristling like vintage Trashcan classics such as "Obscurity Knocks."
Judging from Livingston's assessment of the experiences the band drew upon when finally recording "Weightlifting," its title has a myriad of meanings — not the least of which is a figurative removal of the burdens of their tumultuous past.
"A lot of the songs had to do with being in the band," he says. "We're friends with each other, so there's a lot to do with being loyal to each other and being true to your friends … trying to bring out the best in each other. A lot has to do with (being) resilient as well. Because we just feel like, we failed before. We had a chance — and I don't think any of us think that we (messed) it up — but just a lot didn't go our way. And we failed. A lot had to do with that, letting go of that."
Anticipation is running equally high for their first large-scale American tour in a decade — although enthusiasm from the band's long-suffering fans might not match the excitement emanating from the Trashcans themselves.
"We're looking forward to all of the gigs," Livingston concludes. "We've done so many one-off gigs in a row. By the time you're settling into it, it's time to go home. We're really looking forward to playing a lot of gigs in a row and not going home.
"We're looking forward to playing, really. We haven't done anything for such a long time — or we had such a long time where we didn't do anything. The fact that we're busy is just a total pleasure."
Originally appeared in the Journal News. |
