weightlifting album review

under the radar magazine

by jane rockwood
summer, 2004 (issue 7)

TRASHCAN SINATRAS: Weightlifting

(spinART Records)

9 blips out of 10

"Everyone survived, everyone's alive," singer/guitarist Frank Reader reassures the listener, as the band triumphantly returns to the music scene on the appropriately titled opening track, "Welcome Back." The band's beginnings date from the early '90s and with this album, Trashcan Sinatras have proven their lasting power. Weightlifting is a must-have gem.

The music is consistently gentle yet affecting and, at various times, brings to mind a little bit of Radiohead, some Stone Roses and a more substantial version of fellow Scots, twee-poppers, Belle & Sebastian.

"It's a lovely day in sunlight's golden ray. But that just slips away - isn't it a shame?" are lyrics from "It's a Miracle," which is a particularly pretty song, complimented with string instruments. Throughout the album, the rare mixture of sophistication and pleasure is subtle genius, visible in both the lyrics and the songwriting. Norman Blake from Teenage Fanclub lends vocals for "Got Carried Away," a timeless, melodic track with forgiving lyrics, "it's not too late to change..."

For the keen listener, Weightlifting is not necessarily an innovative, mind-blowing experience, but rather an important, modestly beautiful album that is both heartbreaking and conversely optimistic - an exceptional piece of work that begs to be discovered. (www.trashcansinatras.com)

Originally appeared in Under the Radar Magazine.