Trashcan Sinatras

Over the course of a lengthy career, the Trash Can Sinatras have made music that blends autumnal melodies, chiming guitars, and propulsive rhythms, topped off by the wise words and warm vocals of Francis Reader. The early portion of their discography, like 1990's Cake and 1993's I've Seen Everything, featured a slightly more agile and spiky approach; by the time they had returned from a short hiatus they sound softened and grew more adult oriented. Albums like 2004's Weightlifting and 2016's Wild Pendulum showed off the band's more mature sound, and in the case of the latter, a more experimental side. 2026's Ever the Optimist was proof, that though the band had aged, their sound retained the melodic charm and emotional impact of their earlier releases. The band were founded outside of Glasgow in 1986 by singer/guitarist 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, they were 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. They made a triumphant return to the scene in 2004 with their spinART release Weightlifting and a world tour that had them wowing old fans and gaining new ones with their typically wonderful display of melody and emotion. The group followed up the next year with Fez, a limited-edition album made up of live acoustic recordings recorded at New York's Fez nightclub. After a relatively uneventful couple of years, the band reconvened in late 2007 to begin recording a new album. The results (which featured Carly Simon singing backing vocals on a song) were issued as In the Music by Lo-Five in the summer of 2009. The Trash Can Sinatras kept busy with a live album in 2009, Brel, and preparing a box set intended to feature their Fontana albums plus Weightlifting and bonus tracks. Unfortunately, it never saw the light of day, and the band resumed touring in 2010, playing their initial show in a fan's living room in Portland. In 2014, the band returned to the recording studio to work on their sixth album with producer Mike Mogis and on "sonic scenery," their old friend Simon Dine. Funded by a successful PledgeMusic campaign, Wild Pendulum was released in May of 2016 and the band headed out soon afterward on a tour of the U.S. The band continued to tour regularly, but it wasn't until 2020 that they issued new music with the "Days"/"The Closer You Move Away from Me" single. They next released the four-song Lay of the Land EP in 2022, then with the patronage of the Last Night from Glasgow label, reissued Cake, I've Seen Everything, and A Happy Pocket with remastering and bonus tracks. They started their own TCS label to release their seventh album, 2026's Ever the Optimist. Featuring the band's usual blend of sprightly guitar pop and lush balladry, the record also featured guest vocals from Green Gartside of Scritti Politti and Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura. Tragically, the album arrived just days before the death of founding guitarist and songwriter John Douglas. ~ Jason Ankeny & Tim Sendra, Rovi