Long before
Travis
and
Coldplay
came along,
the Trash Can Sinatras
enchanted college-aged Anglophiles with their jangly brand of emotive
Brit-pop
. Seen as musical fluff by fans of early-'90s pre-
Nirvana
alternative
and ignored by fans of mid- to late-'90s post-
, these five Scottish lads smoothed the edges but sharpened the hooks of a developing genre.
The Trash Can Sinatras
' 1990 debut,
Cake
, mixes intricately intertwined guitars, in the spirit of a more charming, less gritty
Johnny Marr
, with lush strings and sophisticated harmonies. Touchingly clever wordplay ("You came into my life/Like a brick through a window/And I cracked a smile") abounds, as on
"The Best Man's Fall."
The clean production -- necessary for such elaborate orchestration -- is extremely warm and inviting. Singles like
"Obscurity Knocks"
"Only Tongue Will Tell"
as well as
"Maybe I Should Drive"
prove to be the tastiest pieces of pure
pop
pleasure. But sugar can be bittersweet and laced with longing, as on
"Thrupenny Tears"
"You Made Me Feel."
Regardless of the relative mood, this debut is noticeably devoid of musical missteps -- quite a feat for a new artist. Easy on the ears and palate,
is as filling and digestible an album as one could hope. Subsequent
Trash Can Sinatras
releases reach for the same greatness but ultimately fall a little short. This precursor to early 21st century
darkens the occasional used record store bin. And it tastes almost as fresh as the day it was made. ~ Norm Elrod