Teenage Fanclub embrace uncertainty and solitude for new album ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’: “We like the unknown”
After the release of Endless Arcade, Teenage Fanclub found themselves on a revitalising journey following co-founder Gerard Love’s departure. They embarked on new musical explorations that, in the words of Raymond McGinley, evoke the sensation of wandering through an endless city filled with mystery, an imaginary metropolis that stretches out infinitely. As whispers of a forthcoming album began to circulate, fans eagerly awaited the next chapter in the journey of this esteemed collective. What they were about to experience was an endearing glimpse into the future.
The initial sound that graces Nothing Lasts Forever is a prolonged feedback note lingering in the air with the delicacy of a dragonfly. From this, an acoustic riff emerges, ascending like a soaring bird. It’s a blissful and sun-drenched beginning, akin to the late summer haze that softens the details on the distant horizon. The message is clear: the time has come to progress and leave the past behind, encouraging a forward-looking perspective that advises against dwelling on the past.
“We’ve finished a lifestyle with the Endless Arcade album,” McGinley exclusively tells Far Out. “[Covid-19] was a funny time because for the first time, we had an album that came out, [and we had to] wait and only just started touring last year, really.” For Teenage Fanclub, the pandemic was a significant blocker for many things, but Endless Arcade still arrived with grace despite the group having to put touring on hold for a little while longer.
In fact, coming out of Covid-19 meant that the band faced a newfound sense of haste, but eventually, it all came together in a seamlessly unforced manner. “We wanted to just go ahead and do something and start doing it,” McGinley admits, which speaks to the effortlessness in which Nothing Lasts Forever presents itself.
The band may have wanted to get back to work quickly, but in doing so, they left any preconceived notions about what the album would sound like – or feel like – at the door. “We really don’t stop to think or analyse anything,” he continues. “I think we just kind of try and tune in to how we’re feeling about things rather than [go over] the process of writing. It’s obviously a self-indulgent process, and we just wanted to do something in a focused kind of way with the five of us in the studio. We like the unknown.”
Themes of light and reflection permeate all corners of Nothing Lasts Forever, evident in various tracks like the autumnal folk-rock vibes of ‘Tired Of Being Alone’ to the William Blake-inspired ‘Self-Sedation’, and even in ‘I Left A Light On’, where a glimmer of hope is retained amidst the conclusion of a relationship. However, McGinley admits that all of this was purely coincidental.
“We never talk about what we’re going to do before we start making a record,” McGinley said when Nothing Lasts Forever was first announced. Adding, “We don’t plan much other than the nuts and bolts of where we’re going to record and when.” It’s precisely this lighthearted approach that allows the album to radiate positivity. When you already harbour hope and optimism, as evident in Teenage Fanclub’s approach, it naturally shines through. ‘Foreign Land’, for instance, explores the idea of progress and avoiding dwelling on the past. However, as hinted by the album’s title, there’s also a subtle touch of melancholy lingering around its periphery.
Much of this sentiment comes from the band’s experience. Having spent 30 years in the industry, mostly in the realms of cultdom, there’s always a sense that the rug could be pulled out at any moment. “It could all just evaporate and disappear at any point,” says McGinley. “We all like that kind of precariousness of it.” A lot of the time, when the band returns to the studio, there’s a deliberate sense of nonchalance in the air, but one that exists for the purpose of achieving greatness. The danger – or uncertainty – that comes with life in the music industry serves Teenage Fanclub in the way they approach and maintain their own specific standards.
Since the 1980s, McGinley cites staying true to himself as an important endeavour, particularly during a time when the culture and opinions of others could be so loud. After his and Norman Blake’s band, The Hairdressers, fizzled out, the two formed Teenage Fanclub and continued existing within their own ideal slice of solitary bliss. “Other people start to have an opinion about who or what you are,” McGinley says, so they “wanted to make an album kind of in isolation first.”
He continues, “As soon as you go out as a band on stage, people might have an opinion of you. But we had this idea where we could just make an album, put it out there, and people can either take it or leave it. The identity of the band will be formed by us in isolation, just in our little bubble. Then, when we put the album out, people will react – we’ve been lucky that people have paid attention to what we do.”
This is a process that Teenage Fanclub would go on to rinse and repeat throughout all of their projects: they’d come together, create in their own sanctioned space, and deal with the reaction later. It’s the perfect approach, really, because it speaks volumes about authenticity in an industry that often tries to mould musicians into its very own perfect stranger. “When we come back out again,” McGinley says, “the world will have changed, people will have changed, and we have no idea whether people will still be interested or not. So, we just concentrate on pleasing ourselves.”
During the blissful after-period, however, it’s rarely ever doom-and-gloom, and the fans often approach the band with their various interpretations of the songs. “You meet people who have listened to the album,” McGinley says, “and different people have different takes on things. I think we were quite pleased with this record and have no idea how people will react to it.”
In terms of today’s musical landscape, there’s much to spark discourse – there’s a lot of anger and unrest in many groups and circles, especially those that are largely impacted by societal or political issues. However, Teenage Fanclub exist as a reminder that “it’s okay to have a laugh,” as McGinley puts it. “We’re trying to look on the positive side of things. We like to enjoy life. It’s easy to get angry about everything, but it doesn’t really do you any good.”
That’s why Nothing Lasts Forever comes at the perfect time: many of us have encountered a particular form of isolation or been at the hands of some kind of manifestation of oppression, yet the position Teenage Fanclub adopts relates to a more serene sanctuary accessible to all without dispute. They crafted the album with their personal world as the focal point, and its sound wonderfully mirrors that authentic perspective. “We like to show ourselves as we are,” McGinley remarks, and perhaps that’s an attitude we all should do well to carry, after all: not much matches up to the power of radiating light and hope during life’s bleakest moments.
