Affection... Band's from Scotland Part 1

I've been compiling a playlist of my all time favourite tracks by bands from Scotland. So since I've got all kinds of amazing Scottish bands on the brain tonight, I thought I'd post some videos of a few.

First up is The Trash Can Sinatras and since I never meet many people familiar with the band, I present their allmusic.com bio by Jason Ankeny, which reads as such:

"Scottish indie-pop stalwarts the Trash Can Sinatras were founded outside of Glasgow in 1987 by singer/guitarist Frank Reader (the brother of ex-Fairground Attraction singer Eddi Reader), guitarists John Douglas and Paul Livingston, bassist George McDaid and drummer Stephen Douglas. Initially formed as a cover band, the group was performing in a local bar when they were discovered by Go! Discs label representative Simon Dine; their first single, the superb "Obscurity Knocks," appeared in early 1990, evoking the jangly guitar-pop crafted by Scottish bands like Aztec Camera, Orange Juice and Josef K a decade earlier. A second Trash Can Sinatras single, "Only Tongue Can Tell," preceded the release of the quintet's debut LP Cake, which met with a positive response on both sides of the Atlantic; in the U.S., it became a particular favorite on college radio. McDaid left the lineup in 1992, and was replaced by bassist David Hughes; by the time the Trash Can Sinatras' sophomore effort I've Seen Everything finally appeared in 1993, however, the ascendance of grunge essentially derailed whatever commercial momentum the group still had left, and 1996's A Happy Pocket was not even released in America. A new single, "Snow," followed in late 1999. The band made a truimphant return to the scene in 2004 with their Spin Art release Weighlifting and a world tour which had them wowing old fans and gaining new ones with their stunning display of melody and emotion."

To this bio I will add the news that the band's website is reporting that they spent January and February recording new studio material, they'll be mixing the album in April, and then begin the task of licensing the album for release. I don't know when we'll see it finally in stores and how a release will fare on these shores, but I am anxious for new material from the band for sure.

I love songs largely for lyrics and these guys had me hooked from the first single, "Obscurity Knocks". I mean look at these lyrics:

obscurity knocks

always at the foot of the photograph - that's me there
snug as a thug in a mugshot pose, a foul-mouthed rogue
owner of this corner and not much more
still these days i'm better placed to get my just rewards
i'll pound out a tune and very soon
i'll have too much to say and a dead stupid name

though i ought to be learning i feel like a veteran
of "oh i like your poetry but I hate your poems"
calendars crumble i'm knee deep in numbers
i've turned 21, i've twist, i'm bust and wrong again

rubbing shoulders with the sheets till two
looking at my watch and i'm half-past caring
in the lap of luxury it comes to mind
is this headboard hard? am i a lap behind?
but to face doom in a sock-stenched room all by myself
is the kind of fate i never contemplate
lots of people would cry though none spring to mind

though i ought to be learning i feel like a veteran
of "oh i like your poetry but I hate your poems"
calendars crumble i'm knee deep in numbers
i've turned 21, i've twist, i'm bust and wrong again

know what it's like
to sigh at the sight of the first quarter of life?
ever stopped to think and found out nothing was there?

they laugh to see such fun
i'm playing blind man's bluff all by myself
and they're chanting a line from a nursery rhyme
"ba ba bleary eyes - have you any idea?"

years of learning i must be a veteran
of "oh i like your poetry but I hate your poems"
and the calendar's cluttered with days that are numbered
i've turned 21, i've twist, i'm bust and wrong again
ought to be learning
twist, i'm bust and wrong again
feel like a veteran
twist, i'm bust and wrong again
calendar's cluttered
with days that are numbered
and i know what it's like
to sigh at the sight
of the first quarter of life


Now that's song writing!

I admit I kind of forgot about them from time to time over the years, but their output hasn't always been consistent in terms of seeing regular album releases.

I'll end this post with the video to "Obscurity Knocks"... enjoy!