Bandwagonesque

Scotland’s Teenage Fanclub crash onto the scene with Bandwagonesque, a fuzzy love letter to classic power pop that balances distortion with unexpectedly tender harmonies, like Big Star filtered through a J Mascis pedalboard. The band doesn’t just echo their influences—they bend them into something distinctly early-’90s and unmistakably their own: “December” channels Dinosaur Jr.’s loose-limbed cool but softens it with sweeter vocal blends; “What You Do to Me” is a 90-second sugar rush that plays like Badfinger coated in fuzz; and “Metal Baby” delivers a winking, riffy swagger that feels like proto-Weezer before such a thing technically existed. Bandwagonesque isn’t reinventing the wheel, but it’s carving out a melodic, hook-happy niche in Britpop’s noisier corners.

Oikein kelpoa alt rokkia, semmoista aika indie henkistä. Alkoi vahvasti mutta loppu olikin sit aika tasapaksua. Tasapaksun hyvää kummiskin, mutta mikään kappale ei erottunut joukosta. Parhaat: The Concept

Great guitar work, some fun songs, but mid vocals

An enjoyable listen and style though no real stand outs for me.

It's not too bad. Almost an angsty punk vibe which sounds about right for early alternative rock.

Nice instrumentation but a little boring ar parts

Just an average 90's album...

Vibes: 4/5 Instruments: 3/5 Production: 2/5 Emotional Value: 2/5 Storytelling: 3/5 Stand Outs: I Don't Know, metal baby Overall Rating: 2.8

Okay ive very vaguely heard of this assumed it was late 90s American stoner rock based on the cover. It isn't. In the vicinity tho. It doesn't scream early britpop theres a lot of Yank here. Ohhh this is so close to being something id like but im mostly just bored. There's a real fountains of wayneish sound that i obviously love (aware that this predates fountains) but theres like no higher energy songs which doesn't make me want to stick around for a full album. Listening again bc i could feel that I was missing something last night and yeah it is better the second time round. Saved a couple of songs but idk i still cant see myself coming back to it as a whole. I like the sound but theres not enough variety for 12 songs. Which is the same thing i said before. Like both listens Is This Music started and I was like Oh Wait! We're about to do something! And its the last song.

Pretty decent rock album, nothing mind-blowing, in contrast to the mind-blowing fact that the American music magazine Spin judged this to be better than Nirvana's Nevermind.

It's a little bland, but it is quite a nice listen.

Must surely have been an influence to future skate punk bands like Sum 41, Blink 182 etc. Sounds early for its time. Overall I found it a bit tame though, probably much due to the singer. Felt like he lacked some presence or something, not sure. Just didn't really feel punk enough I guess. I found 'What You Do To Me' the best track by far. The rest were ok, but they all sounded quite similar to me. Weak 3.

Best når de ikke synger. Jeg kødder ikke, synes de beste låtene var Satan, Pet Rock, og Is This Music?. Gutta kan spille, men er ikke overbevist om at de kan skrive låter. Built to Spill og Yo La Tengo gjorde samtidig støyete og emosjonell indie rock ufattelig mye bedre på den andre siden av dammen. Jeg likte det instrumentale godt nok til å gi den en sjanse til, og skiva sitter litt bedre når jeg vet hva jeg kan forvente. Det er fortsatt en dissonans mellom vokalprestasjonen og resten av musikken. Vokalen ligger i det lave registeret og minner en del om Ride, men i Ride følger resten av musikken etter, som om den er svøpt bak det ømfintlige canvaset av et low pass filter. Her er det extremt poppa skranglerock med mye high end, og så ligger vokalen bak der og later som at den hvisker til meg? Jeg forstår det ikke.

i enjoyed this, a very easy listen and some catchy hooks throughout 3.5

Un peu trop saturé pour moi même si partiellement de très beaux accords de guitare. J'ai trouvé ça très hétérogène, mais globalement j'accroche pas de ouf à ce truc mi saturé mi léger (genre les violons et la mélodie en majeur sur December, avec dans l'oreillette gauche un truc plutôt proche du bruit). Bref mi grunge mi un peu pop pas trop ma came, un 2,5 que j'arrondis à 3 car rien de choquant (mais je me suis un peu fait chier et ai eu du mal à avancer l'écoute, j'ai skip pas mal j'avoue).

tout d'abord, il faut souligner une forte appréciation des accords de guitare prolongés, très tendus, avec ce son un peu grésillant sans devenir grinçant. côté instrumental ça envoie, et les paroles sont un peu hit or miss (What you do to me: classique mais le fait que le ton soit légèrement haussé à la fin de chaque phrase change la donne, The Concept: bof, December: l'idée d'assassiner décembre est validée, etc.). je comprenais pas comment The Concept pouvait durer 6min avec aussi peu de paroles (c'était ma première réflexion avant même de découvrir Satan lol), mais la seconde partie marche très très bien, ça fait un peu penser aux musiques style the final countdown avec une vibe un peu main character qui se passe de commentaires. en vrai de vrai c'est exactement le type d'album qui convient à une balade nonchalante mais soutenue, ce qui correspond très bien à mon mood actuel. on est sur un bon 3.75 arrondi en-dessous par souci de cohérence (en termes de ratio très bon sons versus homogénéité/monotonie).

this was fine, not something id want to listen to again. the fact that ben gibbard is a big fan of this makes a lot of sense in retrospect.

A good album, great length and sounding quite ahead of its time. 3.5 for me , but rounding down.

Cool band, fun album. Interesting to hear where music might have been headed if Nirvana hadn't blown up the scene at the same time. Naturally this one got lost in the fray, but not because it lacks in listenability or quality. Not saying this would have had anywhere near the impact, but it also holds up well enough this many years after, and that's saying something.

Cover is vet lekker Microsoft Paint-ish, de muziek is vrij mwwoaaaaaah Er zitten wat stevigere nummers tussen, die ook meteen een stuk minder klinken en daarnaast is er een hoop wat me doet denken aan post-punk new wave shit? Tsja, ik heb eigenlijk heel weinig over dit album te zeggen buiten dat het prima is? Het is rock, maar niet hele stevige of interessante rock. Merk dat ik psychrock/progrock of de wat stevigere Artic Monkey rock beter trek. Of dad rock van Dire Straits en Bruce Springsteen. Wat ik eigenlijk probeer te zeggen; dit album doet me vooral denken aan muziek waar ik liever naar zou luisteren in plaats van dit. Dat is nogal jammer en niet echt waar ik deze challenge voor doe... Naja het heeft me niet geirriteerd verder, maar ik heb toch wel een beetje vragen wat dit album nou op deze lijst doet. FAVO: Starsign, Is this music?

An enjoyable listen but not one I’d go back to

It’s ok, didn’t blow me away or really surprise me in any way.

Le porte-étendard du basic et de mon ennui

This was pretty fun ... and bagpipes in a rock song? Heck Yes!

OK, unspektakulär.

Pretty decent

fine Best Song: The Concept Rating: 5/10 Stars: 3

Big Star for the 90s?

It's good, benefits from a second listen. The production and mix let's it down big time. Vocals are very tame.

I've always been aware of Teenage FanClub but I don't think I've ever listened to them. This kinda rules. Rocking riffs, soaring guitars and tight harmonies. Power pop at its best. 3.75

This not a bad album, but it's not great either. Not sure what's so special about this album that warrants its inclusion in this list.

Very 90s and very cool

I see this album came out in 1991. That it sounds so very 1990s suggests to me that these folks were on the leading edge of alternative rock. I certainly heard of them in that time, but I don't know that I ever listened to them. And, having listened now, being early doesn't, apparently, mean you meet my subjective determination of what's great. I liked this album well-enough, but it doesn't really stand out for me. The guitars are a tad too pretty for me, and there's just too much harmonizing for my tastes. More dissonance and/or less singing would make me like this more. Anyway, pretty good, not great. I give it a 3.

I bought this when it came out on the strength of The Concept. It’s solid and without waste tracks, but when I want something in this era of power pop I tend toward Lemonheads, Matthew Sweet or Weezer.

Good enough and I get the feeling that I'll give it another listen at some point when I'm done with the remainder of the list. Just 205 to go...

Hipster grunge. Not bad at all but nothing Id go searching for. 2.5/3

Liked a couple of songs, especially the last one

It had a nice vibe. I got through most of it. Because I had never heard it before, and because it was from a time in my youth, it reminded me of a time and place close to me that I had never encountered.

It might be plain, but I like the vibe. It’s relaxed, built on clean sounds, and easy to sink into. Does it deserve a spot on the 1001 Albums list? Hard to say. Honestly, there are probably a few records on there that deserve it even less (looking at you, Kid Rock). It has a simpler, stripped-back Oasis feel, which works but never really pushes further. In the end, it’s another perfect 3-star album: enjoyable, not essential. Solid 7/10.

Starting with a wall of feedback is an automatic 1 star deduction for me. The Concept was a decent song, but they already put my back up with that opening. The next track Satan didn't help (although the last 15 seconds were good?). Eventually, most of the songs were decent jangle pop songs pulled down by the slacker singing style. A lot of the time the songs made me think of Matthew Sweet, who I prefer (he was releasing albums at the same time, so it's not a who was first kinda question). I think what makes Matthew Sweet better is that he has more energy in his singing - there are a lot of songs on this album with great music but boring singing (e.g., I Don't Know and Star Sign) and the album got more boring on close listen - never a good sign. Can't believe Spin Magazine picked this for Album of the Year 1991. That's insane, and shows that music critics generally have their heads inserted in certain orifices - I don't think the band should be punished for that, though. I'll give it a 3 despite the noise in the first two tracks and the lazy vocal style that detracts from far too many songs. Didn't mind listening, wouldn't seek it out again. Favorite tracks: What You Do to Me, Is This Music? (nice closing instrumental).

6/10

This was voted as album of the year in 1991?! Over Gish, Ten, BSSM, GnR, and Nevermind? That’s crazy. I mean, it was good. I enjoyed listening to it. I wondering if someone, somewhere out there is hanging tight to that opinion and going against the flow. Not me. I’d never heard of this band before.

3 out of 5 I liked this new music. Lot of good songs.

It was fine. I feel like I’d heard a couple of the songs before.

2.7 Disappointing. I've heard this name floating around in various threads so was looking forward to exploring. But my god was it dull. The stand out track definitely the last one. To answer that tracks question, yeah that was, but barely. Played it way too safe. If that was bandwagonesque then im not going anywhere near that bandwagon

I had the wrong idea about Teenage Fanclub. They were always on the peripherals of my music taste, but I somehow never actually listened to them. I always thought they were a noise-rock, post-punk, shoegaze type band, a la Sonic Youth or the likes. Instead, they're bright and poppy rock, melody-focused with polished vocal harmonies. There are moments when you feel that the band I thought they were, start to show up, with the dissonant tones of distorted guitar noise creeping in. But it's always in the background of the very straight-forward poppy song melodies. "The Concept" is a really great song, and a great opener. I can hear the influence this band have had on Carseat Headrest, and in particular Ash. In fact, I hear Ash all through this album. "Satan" gives me the noise rock that I was expecting and I think for a moment that this album is going in a different direction. But it doesn't. Instead, it settles in for simple, polished, guitar-driven pop-punk. Some great, catchy tunes here, but knowing of the acclaim this album gets, I do feel like I'm missing something at times. Most of the album sounds like the positive cousin of the Jesus and Mary Chain. It all feels very young and optimistic. I guess that's the point. I don't mean to sound too negative about this album, because I'm not. I quite enjoyed it, even if it wasn't what I was expecting. Some great songs here, extremely catchy. A solid 3.5 star album.

Bandwagonesque is the third album by Scottish alternative rock band Teenage Fanclub, released in November 1991 on Creation Records. The album gave the band substantial US success when the single "Star Sign" reached number four on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, becoming their biggest hit in that country, with "What You Do to Me" and "The Concept" also becoming top 20 hits on that chart.

I didn't have a strong opinion on that album!

Standard Brit pop stuff.

Hmm... So. I like this genre in general. I think that is not always helpful. The reason for that is because I am naturally inclined to like this style of music so I pay attention to who and what is out there. The fact that I may or may not have "heard these guys" is kind of telling. I think they are OK. Even worthy of the genre. But are they... a must hear? From what I gather from their fan base it is pretty niche, but for me, maybe, they are "yeah, pretty good, if they were in a local pub I might stick around and enjoy the show. It isn't even a negative thing to say, but there are other bands too similar, and somewhat more ... IDK, extra? that I would pay more attention to.

Not very memorable

I get what they were trying to be, which counts for something. Rough album art...

A decent bit of early 90s alt-rock. Seems like a direct precursor to the emo groups that got big later this decade.

Having never listened to them before despite hearing the name over the years, once the album starts I'm immediately struck by the influence on Weezer this must have had.

I enjoyed this! Felt very 90s pop rock, upbeat but not too jolly, angsty at times but not too grungy. No complaints, but likely won't return to it either.

Plenty fun enough, but not enough about it to make me jump on their bandwagon.

I gave this a couple tries. It's an interesting example of one of the directions "non-metal" rock was moving in 1991. Unfortunately, Brit-pop and grunge "won" in the UK and the US, respectively, and both countries' rock offerings are less interesting, not because it was bad, but because the sound narrowed. Ultimately, I'm not going to fight for this specifically, but it's a different take that's good in its own way.

Decent. End-of-the-party vibes. Sounds like Sonic Youth at times, but not as ”out there”, which is both to its benefit and, arguably more so, to its detriment.

This was a pretty good time capsule into the early 90s change of music scene. Poppy but raw at times. I knew from the first few notes I'd enjoy this album, and I did.

Not bad. The music is good even when the lyrics aren’t particularly deep or interesting. I kind of got weezer vibes. Very early 90s alt rock

Not sure I’ve ever heard Teanage Fanclub. Nothing really blew me away but nothing I didn’t like. Just a middle of the road alternative album.

sufficiently jangly.

A solid record from a band I had never heard of before. Fun vibes.

Pretty good

A Scottish alternative rock band from the 90's that I've never heard of? Yeah that description didn't really inspire confidence. But you know what? This wasn't bad. A little generic at times, a little derivative at times, but still a good time. Certainly nothing here to be offended by, nothing to be upset over. Am I dying to listen again? Not really. Did I NEED to hear this before dying? No. But there are far worse albums on this list that didn't need to be, and I'm not upset over its inclusion. Three stars. Standout Tracks: The Concept, I Don't Know, Pet Rock

Bom álbum com momentos de destaque. Celest Wyvern Qing.

Fun and well produced alternative rock album. It’s definitely no never mind though.

Not bad

Pretty good honestly

Decent but nothing special. Beats and music is good to put on when doing chores.

Not very memorable but the album cover is giving ms.paint vibes which we respect.

Some good songs on here, and I can see the influence they had on other British bands later on in the 90s. But overall, I find them pretty mediocre. Definitely remind me a lot of Big Star, who I also find pretty mediocre!

nice but got very repetitive

What in the fresh MS Paint hell is this? Oh, it's Scottish alt rock. Seems like mostly softer vocals over some wailing guitar, a classic recipe for success. It's not bad. Not very novel, but not bad. Maybe pretty cool for 1991. Standouts were "The Concept" "I Don't Know" - had some really nice guitar riffs - and "Metal Baby." "Satan" was not it, I hate noise tracks for the sake of noise. My big point of issue with this album is the vocals. They all just fall so flat. There's so little passion in it that the singers come across as bored. The guitar and drums are so full of energy and sound interesting, the vocals just don't match. It was a pretty decent listen from a band I've never heard of before, but there's nothing really classic here in my opinion. There are some good grooves that'll get your toe tapping, so it's a solid 3 for me. It's fun to listen to in the moment, but a bit forgettable in the long run.

It’s not bad but also not the type of music I particularly like

I used to like Teenage Fanclub a lot and I remember them being quite a force back in the day. A couple or three pleasant tunes but I wasn’t particularly moved or invigorated today. But back in 1991 I think they were ahead of their time and influential but that’s been lost on me in the subsequent decades.

There were elements I liked — as a power pop fan, these guys were hitting some of those notes. But there was not a lot of diversity here. Songwriting got stale and tempos were a big draggy and similar and I found myself less than enthused.

I wanted to like this more than I actually did. Just sounded bland.

Easy and agreeable

Eh franchement pas si mal ! Je pensais que ça allait être cata mais franchement sympa

the concept- 5 satan- 5 december- im too deltarune pilled. 6 what you do to me- 5 i dont know- 5 star sign- 5 metal baby- 5 pet rock- 5 sidewinder- 5 alcoholiday- 5 or 6 guiding star- 5 is this music- 5

Quintessential late 80's/early 90's alt-pop-rock. The guitars on this album are second-to-none. Lots of Matthew Sweet sounding riffs. The vocals are lackluster and the lyrics are just ok. It's an interesting case study on the confluence of different rock sub-genres. You get some Seattle-sounding guitar and surf rock rhythms. I think the band just gets a little confusing throughout the album. Still worth a listen.

a britpoppy album from scotland. 13yo me going thru an anglophile phase like every girls on tumblr at the time would've loved this, but as a 25yo woman who hasn't really listened to rock music in years this did nothing for me unfortunately

This uh…this could have been so much better. I think it suffers from the band not really having a consistent sound? At the start it was pretty hard and then the middle just drags into generic alt rock that was about to sound VERY dated in 1991. Not bad, very forgettable

As an early 90s indie kid in Glasgow it was almost compulsory to love this album. If you told someone you thought it was just alright their faces would fall and they'd look at you askance. It's got its moments but I guess I'll never love it. Just past the halfway mark the relentless mid pace drags me down, a bit like an Oasis album.

Not My Taste

Listenable

Very 90s

Some parts I like but some parts are too discordant for me

A bit boring but a welcome break after the last album

Fannie fun

Kind of repetitive nothing too special for me

Don't remember.

Eh…alright I guess

♫ Listening to "What You Do to Me" by Teenage Fanclub (Bandwagonesque, 1991) ♫ While good, if this wasn't on this list, I would not have finished it.

Bear with me, but this album feels like the in-universe songs that a made up band would play in a coming-of-age movie about starting a band and becoming famous. Think "That Thing You Do" or "Sing Street". Very pleasant, but very formulaic.

Favorite Track: I Don't Know

для этой обложки очень милый и обычный альбом саунда 90х. оказывается MJ Lenderman такой же

ganz netter 90s record. 3.5.

Better than expected, but not incredible. Won’t visit again, but didn’t hate it.

3 1/2 stars almost 4 Kurt Cobain and Liam Gallagher both loved this album. It sounds a lot like Big Star which is a good thing. I will listen to it again.

Escuchar este disco me causó una extraña sensación de nostalgia. Nunca antes lo había escuchado.

It's whatever. Early 90s alt rock, shades of Pavement, or Dinosaur Jr., or Weezer. Which is to say kind of boring, but not the worst. It's fine.

Liker instrumentalpartiene. Tidvis uengasjerende vokal. Ujevnt.

Felt a bit boring at parts but still had nice stuff on it. 3 stars

An album that lands somewhere between power pop and Britpop, with nice melodies, distorted guitars, and a laid-back delivery. It reminds me a bit of Oasis, but without all the self-importance, which actually makes it easier to like. I’m not completely sold, but Bandwagonesque is solid and charming enough to get a thumbs-up. 3/5

Strongly reminded me of my teenage years and a girlfriend who loved teenage fan club. I always thought they were ok but nothing groundbreaking

Very 90s

Cool!

man some things just dont mix. It feels like the instruments are for a filthier or dirtier band, when the vocals come across as softer and more introspective. Almost like a precursor to pop punk of the 2000's. Unfortunately it just feels muddy, between the constant hum of distorted guitar and trying to listen through it, makes for an average to poor experience.

indie rock blueprint

Pop rock feel

Like so much of what I've heard here, this is fine. It's not memorable either way, but I've no problem with listening to it.

Was alright

Passable power-pop. Potentially pleasant, perfectly palatable permutations: perhaps predetermined, prescribed possibly. Pundits praise, perplexingly.

This was pretty good even if it may not be something I revisit often. Definitely matched my style just didn’t stand out to me much.

Pleasant enough. It’s utterly forgettable and should have been in my wheelhouse. Didn’t mind it. Won’t go out of my way to re-listen either

paar goeie songs, paar missers... twijfelgeval

I liked it but it’s good back ground music

I found it really boring, but the album is fine for what it is. I expected something different just looking at the cover art.

Was quite surprised that I'd heard a couple of these songs before. Never been a big fan of 90s British rock music - but this is a decent enough example of it and IMO much more palatable than Oasis. Just a shame that it feels like it peters out towards the end

Had no idea what to expect from this but really, really enjoyed it. Started off a little slow for me, but after a few songs I was hooked. I can totally hear how this influenced some of my favorite artists too. The last few songs beginning with “Sidewinder” were phenomenal. I wish I could give this a 3.5, but I have to round up because this left such a strong impression on me. Edit: listening to this more I don’t love it like I did on first listen. Rounding down and giving a 3 instead.

Didn’t really do much for me. It was good, but nothing I would write home about after first listen

Sort of rock?

While musically talented, it was generally uninspiring.

Not a bad album, it was nice having it in the background, it had this 90s vibe. Nothing too exciting throughout but it's alright overall.

Another in the list of heard the name but never the music. Nothing that jumped out but was nice to listen to.

A good album, but nothing stood out immediately, so it’s bot likely that I will often revisit.

3.5* 82%

*slaps side of album* She’s a sturdy one! This is good, it was enjoyable. I had heard and liked The Concept previously so I went into it a little more optimistic than the huge dorks upset about the album’s artwork I guess.

uh yeah cool album name

[3.5]

Just in case you thought Buzzfed invented bad lists, Spin magazine famously (infamously, wrongly, stupidly?) voted this as album of the year over Nirvana’s Nevermind. It’s pretty good but not that good.

A lot like the last one, some British pop rock. Not too offensive.

It's good, but not great. The band has better. Plus... someone (Spin Magazine) thought this was better than Nirvana's Nevermind? Fail. 3 stars.

The Beatles! "get out of this band! I summon you". Iwas expecting to hear "number 9" spoken in the mliddle of "SATAN" and could have sworn hearing Paul Mc Cartney in "what you do to me", so I particulary liked the harmonies and the fact that they married well with distorded guitars.

Interesting album that had more fun then I expected after the first two songs.

Drowned in the early ‘90s alternative rock wave, Teenage Fanclub only popped onto my radar when I first heard “Fallin’” (a cool collab with De La Soul) in ‘93. I’m now diving into this album that’s jam-packed with all the retro goodies I love from that era—including this touch of melancholy and even plaid shirts. It’s straightforward, heartfelt rock with some pretty neat vocal harmonies. That said, it doesn’t hit me quite as hard as it might have back when I was into bands like Pavement or Dinosaur Jr. Still, despite the album being a bit inconsistent, I kind of dig it! Alcoholiday yeah!

Een mix van 60s pop en 90s alternative rock, ik heb er wel een soft spot voor. Het volgt de traditie van powerpop-acts als Big Star. Die vergelijking is zo obvious dat het soms bijna een karikatuur lijkt, maar het is wel dermate professioneel uitgevoerd dat ze er mee weg komen. Wel is het een recept dat naarmate de plaat vordert z'n verfrissende smaak verliest, en lijken ze op enige momenten na (de sublieme shoegaze-achtige outro van 'The Concept') op deze plaat een beetje een one-trick pony. Maar zoals ik al zei, het raakte een soft spot, en mijn eerste volledige kennismaking - in de vorm van een compleet album - met de band was toch wel aangenaam. 7,5/10 Highlights: The Concept Star Sign Alcoholiday

Lekker plaatje. Heel erg geinig die mix tussen 60's beatle-rock en de britpop en alternative rock uit de 90's. Het refrein kan het één zijn, de coupletten uit het andere tijdperk. En een muzikaal begin en eind; the Concept vond ik bijna Rush-achtig, Is This Music? deed me dan juist weer aan Ride (o.i.d.) denken. Goeie mix, ik ging er wel lekker op. 7,5/10 Highlights What You Do To Me Is This Music?

This is some bland soulless music. Reminds me of a pretend TV band, like the Partridge Family. It didn’t offend, so I will probably give it three stars, unless I decide to deduct a star because this was made in 1991 and not 1975 when that kind of music was expected.

Not bad. Really liked the opening track.

I suspect sarcastic elbows will prefer the noisy feedback parts. I actually like the poppy stuff better. They do Beatlesque stuff. They do that post pixies pop. They do sonic youth. Or maybe they’d say velvet underground. But I can’t help but feel the pixies did this approach better. To be fair comparing nearly any band of this type to the pixies is going to fall heavily in the pixies favour. This isn’t teenage fanclubs fault. This album isn’t terrible at all. Quite good really. 3 while I work out if it’s a must listen. Wouldn’t it just be better to listen to the pixies and work your way towards this?

It was fine. Not my thing.

Great year ! The album is not bad and feel like an average Oasis but somehow quite forgettable. Some nice riffs here and there and I will revisit this sometimes The concept and Alcoholiday 3.5

Jangly 90's indie rock. It's not bad, but it's not great. Meh.

Lidt alternativ tidlig indierock, skotsk, det er ok, heller ikke noget vildt

Not bad but not great either

Nice.

pretty good. a little twee

Okay enough but I've already forgotten it

I liked it. Esp for it's time.

Overall: 6/10 Honestly, this didn't do much for me. It has a lot of elements of rock music that I love but the energy and enthusiasm doesn't translate through the production. Not bad but not my thing. Fav Song: What You Do to Me Least Fav Song: Guiding Star

This was good

Something for the 90s. Some good, some ok.

Not really moving the needle one or another for me on this one. Perfectly acceptably fine performances but not really adventurous enough for me to pay any close attention to it.

While it doesn’t do a whole lot to differentiate itself from much of the other British alt-rock of the late 80s and early 90s, it’s still an enjoyable listen. I kind of giggled when the 2nd track came on and sounded more metal and I looked and saw the title was “Satan” Going in the only song I was familiar with was “What You Do To Me” which is a good song but also blends in with the era and could pass as a Lemonheads song or something. Good but unremarkable. I would probably listen again and maybe certain songs would grow on me. Probably somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me

pleasant rock songwriting in that this could have come out any year from like 1972 onward. never gonna argue with some fun power pop influenced stuff even if it isn’t doing much to stand out my reviews will not be as detailed while i’m in school :(

Falls in to PAIR (Perfectly Acceptable Indie Rock) territory. It feels very Oasis-y. But the fact that it precedes Oasis and the whole Birt Pop exlosion is quite interesting. Not as mad as Spin making it the 1991 album of the year. (Ahead on Nevermind and countless others)

It's not bad. Better than Britpop which is basically unlistenable. At least they sing well.

Quite an easy listen. Points for nostalgia and how much it sounds like it would be used in a 90s film.

Its OK. Listenable, but not outstanding IMO. Sounds like Toad the Wet Sporket meets the Smithereens, but not as good as either.

This was surprisingly good for an album I still don’t know why it’s on the list. I could listen to this more regularly. 3.25

Wow, going through the popular songs from these guys and I gotta say, “Fallin’” with De La Soul off the Judgement Night soundtrack is still a bop. That album was a game changer. As for the rest of the band’s catalog, I vaguely remember “The Concept” from some moderate radio play? Maybe? “What You Do To Me” sounds familiar too. Maybe I’ve listened to this album before? I know the band name more than the music is what I’m getting at here. At times they remind me of Matthew Sweet. Lots of 70’s vibes mixed with early 90’s faster tempos and song structures. “Guided Star” almost had a My Bloody Valentine - early Shoegaze quality to it which I really liked. Overall it’s a great record that did about what I expected while delivering some fun 90’s pop rock. 3.5

Straightforward pop rock. It isn't bad, but it isn't inspiring either. I don't hear anything that sets them apart from any other run-of-the-mill pop rock band, except maybe better guitar than most. Star Sign was my favorite, mainly because of the opening spacey guitar. The last track asks, Is This Music? Yes it is. This gets a 3.

I'll be honest. I listened to this album for this project sometime ago and made the mistake of not reviewing it right away. Days passed, then weeks. I saw it here on my list with no review but the thing is, I cannot summon any memory of this album in order to describe it. As I recall, it was neither offensive to my ears nor memorably pleasing. It was just sort of there. Good enough. Satisfactory. Perfunctory, like these listening notes I'm writing now. I could go back and give it another listen to jog my memory, but I've got a backlog of like 80 albums at this point, so ain't nobody got time for that.

Dead average. Am I tripping or was it oddly quiet when the music itself felt like it shouldve been loud?

I enjoyed December a lot. The rest, didn't do all that much for me.

Nothing special. Yet another one of those UK inclusions that leave me shaking my head.

Nice enough, but didn't really do anything for me.

3.5

not bad, some fun songs, some a bit boring

To be so for real, The Concept sounds like the music on a Saved By the Bell dance. To the extent that I’m pretty sure it was featured on Saved by the Bell. Perfectly fine tunes.

This is the kind of “mostly sterile but also just gritty enough to feel gritty” kind of stuff that would fit right in to the soundtrack of a Tony Hawk video game. I liked it just fine, but, fully embracing my naivety, I couldn’t tell you what separates this from any other alternative stuff coming out of the early 90s. IF they were the ones to pioneer this sound that would become pretty ubiquitous, then I guess that’s cool.

Enjoyed it, but after a while felt it kind of blended into the background so as to become less memorable.

Slightly earlier version of sound I grew up on once branching out from what siblings played. Early alternative rock. Light, goes by quick.

Fine. Some good stuff here.

I like a lot on this album. The rock sound and the mellow singing are highlights. A lot of the songs become samey to me though. It feels like a lot of the album from 1991 and the comparison to Nirvana seems fitting even if the vibe of the songs are different.

Sounds like it helped shape the Brit pop sound of the 90s. Nothing exciting, nothing awful. Struggling to pick out a real highlight - probably I Don’t Know at a push? Probably more of a 2.5 than a 3 for me.

Musically pretty good if a bit predictable but couldn’t decide whether that’s because it preceded other bands of similar genres

Heard of Teenage Fan Club but never listened to them so didn’t know what to expect. The album opens with high gain guitars and feedback and the launches into a mid tempo pop rock song which is a little underwhelming. The rest of the album sits at that middle of the road level with the occasional increase in urgency/grit. It’s not bad but it’s not great either.

Decent, better on the second listen

Somehow never heard this band. Pretty decent.

Never heard of this, since I spent this era watching Yo MTV Raps. I was surprised by the overwhelming impression that I'd heard every song before. The music is good and goes down easy, but it tastes like a mayonnaise and lettuce sandwich on Wonderbread.

this was not the best album of 1991

What you do to meeee, what you do to me, What you do to meeee, what you do to me, What you do to meeee, what you do to me, What you do to meeee, what you do to me, Alcoholiday and Is This Music are the best songs on the album. I enjoyed the instrumentals overall but some songs were too repetitive for me. Overall, I liked it. 3/5

Cool rock album, consistently good and doesn't overstay its welcome

After the first listen I kinda hated it, thought it was generic and found the lyrics to be repetitive. I want to be clear that repetition in song can be awesome but I’m not sure the delivery really worked on Bandwagonesque. I did end up listening thru a second time and what did hook me was the opening track, which is a solid slacker rock jam. So anyway, I went thru it again and this is far from awful, reminds of Sloan a bit if Sloan was lazy as fuck, ok maybe i should ease up. There were some decent tracks here for sure. 3 stars

This is exactly the type of record I would have read an article about in Spin magazine circa 2007, in which some Gen X writer referred to it as a Certified Classic™️, before turning the page to a review of the latest !!! record. Then, about 3 years later, I would find it used for $2.50 in Newbury Comics, so I would’ve bought it, remembering it was supposedly a Certified Classic™️, and after the first listen, I would’ve found it to be okay, but very much not my thing. Still, I’d proceed to force myself to listen to it every day for the next 3 months, concerned that I was Uncool™️ and confused what exactly I was missing from an album that, to my Millennial Emo ears, sounded like pretty standard-fare ‘90s post-Nirvana indie hipster shit, until one day I moved on and loaned the CD to one of my more pretentious high school hipster friends. It’s pretty fine for what it is, but I don’t find it to be ✨magical✨ in any sense of the word. It’s got some high points of solid power pop songwriting, and it’s got some low points of 2cool4skool eye-rolling pretense. Taken as a whole, the good sandwiches the hipsterness, but the balance is iffy as a result. In some ways, I can see how this is seen as influential, but that influence is on an entire group of artists I personally find annoying. More annoyingly, it feels too try-hard with its punk and art rock attempts, and I think I’d respect this a lot more if it was more focused on fun, fuzzy power pop songwriting. One of the better records on this list to represent the early ‘90s indie rock boom, and while I do like it, I never love it. Probably a taste issue, to be honest.

It's alright. I liked the instrumentals more than the vocals, who seem to be run of the mill. There's a bit of experimentation here and there, but far too little to make this album stand out as influential.

Sounds like every indie-pop band of the 2000's, which doesn't do much to me. Being first in that style of music will onpy give you the same grade which is: ok, not offensive.

Alright

Has a nice sound, but the songs soun way too similar for me.

I would classify this as "cool kids" 90's music. It's good, but not great, and some hipster will have some reason this is the greatest 90's rock album.

Fun shoegaze indie pop.

Day307 - they’re a good indie rock band. they might not be popular but they have put out some good stuff. even though it’s not on this album counting crows covers “start again” and it’s a good one

I enjoyed this album for the most part, and may give it another listen; hadn’t heard of the band before. 3 solid stars for me.

Ok pretty much

A decent album of very unoriginal sounding original music. 3 stars or C+ for me.

Controlled and noise-like, I wanna say. That's just what I'm left with here. And it's not as bad as I feared from the first few tracks.

I like Teenage Fanclub but for me Grand Prix is a far better album. This one is pleasant of course but a wee bit lacking in melody and hooks. Two Scottish albums in a row though 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Not completely terrible

A good album that really seems to have set the tone for much of what came out of the UK in the 90s

A few too many sad beach boys songs, but overall a good album. I'd listen again.

It’s fine

I thought it was fine, nothing that really made me groove along.

Nothing makes me feel like the old man yells at cloud meme like feeling nostalgic for guitar driven pop music but here we are again. I didn’t think I’d heard of these guys until I recognized “what you do to me”, just classic early 90s 3-chord formulaic pop, but dammit I like it. The album wore increasingly thin for me as it went on but I had a good time for the first 20 mins.

Will come back to it and keep listening. Some tracks I really like, others kind of blend in to one. 3.5.

Blandwagon.

decent! I liked “Metal Baby” for its goth gf yearning

Spin magazine named this Album of the Year over Nevermind, and Kurt Cobain once called Teenage Fanclub “the best band in the world.” Meanwhile, I’d never even heard of them—though to be fair, I was 12, in peak mullet mode, and deep into my ’80s hair metal phase. Lofty title or not, I’m not sure I’d crown them world’s best off this album alone.

I'm a fan of these 90s pop rock bands. This isn't the best example however.

Not too bad, definitely didn't hate.

Ok

it was easy to listen to

Never heard this before. In theory I should be all over a hooky band with jangly guitars and Alex Chilton copycat syndrome, but this seems "just okay". It all seems quite derivative, which isn't bad if they were great songwriters. "And say, there's a black cat on the floor. Big deal."

Had never heard of them. Liked a few of the songs, but didn't find anything really memorable.

Not bad, pretty mediocre.

3.5/5. Last track is titled "Is This Music?" and I am happy to say yes it is, pretty decent too.

There is a lot to like about this album but I think that mainly comes down to how accessible it is. It’s just some good ‘90s rock that is definitely NOT better than Nevermind.

I never heard these at the time as I was a straight ahead metal head. This is OK, probably as good as any of the Brit Pop fare that followed it, but it really is not memorable.

Teenage Fanclub is as Teenage Fanclub does, musically stuck somewhere at the precipice of 90s rock'n'roll and britpop, deliberately never embracing either fully.

This was a relatively bland early 90s attempt to be an "alternative" album. It was sub par. Was it bad enough to be ranked a 2? Probably not, but it's nothing memorable in any way. And they almost deserve to get a 1 just for how terrible their album artwork is for this record. It screams, "Hey! I made this with my ClipArt Program. What do you think?"

As popular as the book and Wikipedia make this album sound, I never heard this growing up. I'm guessing this was due to the overwhelming scope of Nirvana's Nevermind. Listening to it now, it's just very pedestrian '90s alt rock.

It's aight

Didn’t do much for me but its relation to Creation records is pretty cool. I was even getting a Weezer vibe every now and then which is cool since this would’ve predated it Rating: 3.1

3.5/5

Seemed alright but I'm not that into it.

Solid stuff, closing track the one track I’ll regularly listen to again (I thought it had rolled into auto play when that baseline kicked in)

3/5

Pretty good for something I’ve never heard of.

Nice indie record, love the fuzzy guitars.

It started strong but afterwards it blended in. I liked it though

Was a two start, but I loved the last song enough to go to 3.

Aside from a few standout tracks this was a pretty meh to average rock album. 3/5

Bandwagonedque is a softer, a time more melodic version of grunge. When the melody hits, it’s very good, when it doesn’t it’s mediocre. Alcoholicday is an example of it working 6.8/10

3.5/5. Pretty consistently solid with a few standout songs. I enjoyed it, but I’m not deeply impacted by any of it. Would listen to again though.

fun! i like this genre of music a lot, good example of lo-fi grungy pop, reminds me a lot of the big star-inspired bands of the time like the replacements. might like it a bit more after a couple more listens, idk.

solid album, nice rock style, sounded really good but songs didn’t really stick much, decent album overall i’d say around a 6/10

Þokkalegt alt-næstumþvíindí-rokk.

This was actually quite high-quality production-wise, I really rate the guitar parts and it generally sounded like my kind of thing. Although nothing stood out in particular, I imagine that it would be enhanced by a second listen.

I mean, it's THE Indie record but it doesn't really excite me. 3 stars because it's so bloody 90's , like a mash up of being in an episode of This Life and Game On. It also came before all the rest and Kurt Cobain loved it too. Also, the bloke who said the British compiler of this list probably begrudgingly put this on here as they are Scottish. The Scottish ARE British! It's really not that difficult.

Nice background music

# Playlist Track - What You Do To Me # Notes - Not a bad album, but there's no way in hell this thing beat "Nevermind" in any Album of The Year that is not hosted by "Scottish albums with Covers Made in MS Paint Magazine".

I’ve been listening to this album for years, just a homage one though. I think I enjoy this more than the other, very memorable. 3.3

alright early 90's alt rock

Although I know Teenage Fanclub isn't quite as obscure as some of the other Scottish bands featured in this collection, it's kind of funny how many Scottish bands seem to show up in the rotation, and often without too much to distinguish them aside from their Scots-y-ness. An OK album, but not all that distinctive, and a little hard to tell exactly what sound they're trying to achieve (although at times I was reminded of Dinosaur Jr).

The fuzzy quality to the sound made me question my headphones. I appreciate their consistency more than I do their music, which is solid, just not for me.

Great discovery - they might not be a new favourite but I'd listen to it again. The album cover needs work tho

I’m sorry, but this is NOT better than Nevermind, I don’t know what Spin was on. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s not transcendent.

Casually enjoyable but nothing special.

This was ok, certainly nothing special but pleasant enough. Hard for me to wrap my brain around the apparent fact that Spin thought this was superior to Nevermind. That position has certainly not stood the test of time.

...

Nice. Never really locked in on anything but an enjoyable album overall. 3/5.

Ironically I really liked this a lot more the first time I listened as teenager.

Nice. Nostaligic for GenX

Par for the 1001 course

another average indie album

AI could have written this album. Good background music. Uninventive.

I quite liked this album. I'm just not a fan of the distortion used in the first 2 songs. Thankfully Satan is short. My favourite was "Is This Music?"

meh

3.5 Perfectly fine but nothing exceptional. What You Do to Me is catchy as hell. I am sure I have heard it in a commercial at least. Half a star for being a fun 45 minutes and for naming your last song of 12 "Is This Music?"

Ok - or better: just ok

Agreed that this definitely sounds like it could've been Big Star's 4th album and overall the music is better than much of BS's material. Great melodic guitar pop rock. What always held it back from truly sticking out for me was/are the lead vocals. Preferential (isn't it always) to be sure but he always fell into that early 90s not-quite-but-approaching-slacker vocal style. This is better than the crappy Pavement-style leads as he's in tune but maybe *lackadaisical* is the best word to describe it. Love the harmonies of course, this album/band just could have used a much more-interesting lead singer for me. I like this album, but dull vocals bring it down to merely real nice for me rather than what would have been a favourite. 7/10 3 stars.

Great guitar. Cool lyrics.

My first impression is that it sounds like the soundtrack to a 90's teenage rom com. After a few listens through I find it ok, but nothing extraordinary. I guess it's on the list for being early for this sound.

Really not too bad at all. Not sure why it is on this list - but I guess it beat out Nirvana in 1991? 3 stars for me

Kind of standard light alt rock

Ganska basic men gick att lyssna på

Not bad. They must have been the first to sound like this to make the list. 3.

Not a big fan of Nirvana's "Nevermind" but there's no way this generic alt-rock effort can be better than that.

Was listening in background and wasn't too bad

Yes did enjoy

Decent

Pretty surprised, I was expecting something…less. It’s decent enough that I’ll give it another few listens for sure.

ok

Pop Rock Slow going, good background music for the summer

I didn't recognize this band or album, but I realized I'd heard "The Concept" before. Overall an ok listen for me.

Incredibly boring. maybe if i was young when i first heard it but it feels dated and dull now

Eh I thought I enjoyed it. Did a workout while listening to it, but the only song I really really enjoyed was, Is this music? Was a dancing around to it.

A perfectly adequate representation of mid 90s alternative rock. Also a perfect representation of why I dislike the term “alternative rock,” since the sameness of it means there wasn’t much of an alternative.

Their sound kind of reminds me of the (early) Foo Fighters. I like the music and vocals but I found the lyrics a bit lacking, though I'm not sure how well I heard them.

Pretty meh. Can't quite give it a 2. Good candidate for 2.5, though.

good listen. would give 3.5 starts if able. I do think it would grow on me a bit.

Not bad but nothing really grabbed my attention

My 12 points go to »Star Sign«.

Had a moment or two of interest. Overall the sound is thicker than deep and the lyric is flatter than full.

I'll take some of the songs with me into future listening, but all in all an inoffensive album that's quite similar to what I would have expected from a melancholy guitar band in 1991.

Haven't heard this album in decades. Always sorta like it. Good vibes. Some songs get repetitive or lack lytics.

meh

Yeah, alright, I vaguely remember this.

Not a fan

some standout songs but generally just good

Would give 3.5 if I could. Enjoyed a to an alright good degree, but ultimately the songs start to become a collection of guitars and drums. Nothing wrong with that, but not sure if it offers anything new

Solid early grunge rock. Reminded me a bit of You Am I. 3.25 stars

Nothing special, but enjoyed the listen. 2.5/5

listening to this reminds me that the early '90s had a genre of its own. Alternative rock at that time seems to follow a familiar sound. I enjoyed some of the songs, where others didn't click as much for me 1st listen 2.5

For me it's a relatively easy going background listen. Nothing too spectacular.

I wish Pavement hit at the same level as these guys for me.

Good