LIKE an ageing midfield dynamo who finds himself on the substitutes' bench more often these days while some promising youngster takes his place in the first team, do Teenage Fanclub notice the career of fresh-faced Glaswegian quintet Attic Lights an
d see the writing on the wall? Probably not, because – contrary to popular belief – there's no mandatory retirement age for pop musicians. Still, if the Fannies ever did decide upon an exit from the business, their fanbase could just migrate en masse to the Lights.
As is mentioned every time words are written about the newer band, the similarities between the two groups are remarkable. That's no bad thing – the Lights sound like a well-preserved version of Teenage Fanclub's 1991 vintage, rather than some jangly knock-off, while the fact they possess one more member gives an extra dimension to their sound.
Guitarists Kevin Sherry and Jamie Houston, trucker-capped bassist Colin McArdle and drummer Noel O'Donell each joined in the truly impressive four-part harmonies which coat each song in sonic honey, while third guitarist Tim Davidson – the only one without his own mic – looked a little left out in the background.
The Byrds and Big Star influences that keep being thrown towards the Fanclub are present in the Lights' music, and their finest songs – Never Get Sick of the Sea, God and Bring You Down – are for fans of timeless rock rather than Klaxons wannabes. Yet the band also bring a youthful energy to this particular subsection of music that hasn't been heard in earnest for some years now – perhaps that might be what pushes them on to real and enduring success.
The full article contains 284 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
