the trashcan sinatras

knitting factory, march 25; maxwell's, hoboken, n.j., april 8

by jack rabid
spring/summer, 2000 (issue #46)

these were the skint scottish band's first gigs in america in seven years, and man, was the audience pumped! while most groups fade from memory, the trash cans sold out all five u.s. gigs in advance (four at these two venues, plus a philly date), and the atmosphere was electric. you know the kind - the first notes of songs from the three lps were met with bursts of cheers of recognition from a 200-strong crowd that knew everything. how i wish all shows had this built-in excitement of starving, knowledgeable fans that couldn't wait to get at this group's rambles through quiet pop splendor again.

oddly though, the trash cans have mellowed so much since their beginnings, as seen on their last lp, a happy pocket, the new japanese ep, and, probably the forthcoming lp (recorded in connecticut with pernice brothers producer muchael deming, a wise choice!), if the songs' debuts here can be judged. that's not a complaint; with each lp, the group has become more unique, an oozing burble of subdued tease, different from the mid-period xtc/early aztec camera-styled jangly-pop they made a decade ago. and while wide-eyed crooner frank reader will always sound like a dead ringer for roddy frame, that's now mere aural similarity, not sylistic xerox. the pleading tones of his upper ranges are that of a soul singer trapped in an immaculate group playing so quietly, it's a wonder the drummer doesn't disappear, he has to tap so gingerly.

in fact, that's the only quibble with these delightful evenings - the dearth of up-tempo material to give the hushed stuff dynamics, to give the overheated fans more rollercoasters of emotion. when the sextet finally did break out their one true haymaker, i've seen everything's fabulous "hayfever" (what a stunner of a melody!), the drummer finally got to pound the toms like he didn't like them, and the hooting crowd bobbed to the rhythm.

otherwise, who could argue with the soulful soft-rock twinkling from the kilmarnock six, of "what women do to men", "trouble sleeping", "send for henny", "the safecracker", "the main attraction" and "i've seen everything"? reader's sighing harmonies with john douglas made these sparkle. and with an audience this overwhelming, and material of such obvious heart and care, one felt relieved that the group stuck out all the broke years since leaving the major label roster so long ago. the new lp should be gorgeous.

Originally appeared in the Big Takeover.