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Best tunes of 2003: #13 Snow Patrol “Spitting games”

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Snow Patrol got started in Dundee, Scotland way back in 1994 when Gary Lightbody formed a band with university friends Mark McClelland and Michael Morrison. Of course, they went through a few name changes and struggled mightily before settling on the moniker we now know and signing to indie label Jeepster, original home to another Scottish indie band we love*. Unfortunately, the struggles didn’t end there, seeing an almost complete turnover in personnel and middling sales and critical reception of their first two records. They were dropped by Jeepster in 2001 but it turned out to be the best thing to happen to them, because they were signed to Fiction less than two years later and sent to the studio to record their major label debut.

“Final straw”, Snow Patrol’s third record, was where I came in. I don’t remember now exactly how I heard about the group or the record, but I definitely remember that it was never a grower. I was hooked to the sound of the album right away. I bought the album on CD**, something I wasn’t doing a lot of at the time, given my lack of disposable income. And when I went back to sample the music of the previous two albums, I didn’t find them nearly as compelling. So something truly clicked here.

“It’s not as if I need the extra weight
Confused enough by life so thanks a lot”

“Spitting games” was the first of five singles to be released off the record. It was and still is my favourite of the bunch. At just shy of four minutes, it is one of the longer tracks, especially on the first side but it is no less driving, nor hard-hitting for all that. It is brash and breathless, starting off all guns ablaze, a punishing drum beat and raging guitars, and it never really lets up. The verses all have the same energy as the non-chorus, where Lightbody just lends his voice to a raging wordless melody. It all leads to the feeling of nervousness and anxiety of someone that has feelings that he doesn’t know what to do with, the confusion of youth and the uncertainties of love.

“Spitting games” is a track, much like the rest of the album, that is raw and passionate and hints at the success that the band will find a few years later.

*Um, Belle & Sebastian.

**And I’ve since replaced that with a copy on vinyl.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2003 list, click here.

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Tunes

Best tunes of 1993: #5 Teenage Fanclub “Hang on”

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I’ve previously shared words on how I discovered Scottish alt-rock quartet Teenage Fanclub while watching music videos on CityLimits back in 1991. It wasn’t long after this that someone in my group of friends picked up a copy of the band’s third album, “Bandwagonesque”, and I was able to record a copy to cassette for constant consumption in my walkman. To say that I became a fan of the fannies was only putting it mildly*. And I wasn’t the only one, obviously, because the album actually did surprisingly well here in North America. And although their success continued afterwards in Europe, interest mostly waned after ears were mostly tuned to everything coming out of Seattle.

For my part, I was practically foaming at the mouth when word came of the impending release of “Thirteen” and I wasn’t disappointed in the least**. I purchased it on compact disc as soon as I was able and put it through its paces, not caring in the least that the raw and often shambolic messes from the previous record had been cleaned up some, the juvenile pranks replaced by well-crafted pop songs, each tip-toeing along the razor wire between rough and smooth sounds. I caught these differences right away, with track one, “Hang on”, a beautiful (almost) ballad penned by Gerard Love.

“Been bought and I’ve been sold
And I’ve forgot what I’ve been told
And now I need someone”

Those are the words that kick off Love’s crooning. But before that, we are awoken by a muscular guitar lick and punishing drums to match. It builds in power, threatening some metal antics, drumming becomes rapid fire and guitars speed up towards thrash zone. And then suddenly, it all melts away into Beatle-esque heaven, complete with angelic harmonies to Love’s own soft touch. The muscular guitars are still there but they just a backdrop and then, when the flutes kick in towards the last third of the song, it doesn’t seem out of place at all. You just close your eyes and get lost in the melody.

*Indeed, it’s still my second favourite album in a great year for music releases.

**I also jumped at the chance a ticket to see them live for the tour for this album, with Yo La Tengo opening, my second ever concert!!!

For the rest of the Best tunes of 1993 list, click here.

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Tunes

Best tunes of 2003: #15 Camera Obscura “Suspended from class”

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Well here we are, four days into the new year: 2024. New years bring new hopes and positivity and of course, the promise of new music. Of all the new albums that are hotly anticipated, the long awaited return of Glasgow, Scotland’s Camera Obscura is one of those that will be the most welcome in my books. They had originally hinted at a full return back in 2019, after a hiatus that began with the death of their long-time keyboardist, Carey Lander, in 2015, but then the pandemic pushed things back a few years.

So it’s almost too perfect that this song should come up in my Best tunes of 2003 list, given that Camera Obscura’s sophomore record, “Underachievers please try harder”, was my introduction to band and still one of my favourites of their works. I had picked this one up after reading comparisons to and affiliations with Belle & Sebastian, another Scottish group with whom I was already a fan. And I found myself really digging the twee-heavy indie pop, especially of those sung by Tracyanne Campbell, who would eventually take over all vocal duties with the departure of founding member John Henderson after this album.

“Suspended from class” is the opening number on said album and a perfect mood-setter. It’s a jangly and peppy piece of sunshine pop but if you listen closer and on repeat listens, you’ll realize that there’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye.

“I should be suspended from class
I don’t know my elbow from my arse”

This couplet is more than just a cheeky turn of phrase. It is a play upon words and hearkens back to a time when being “suspended” was the worst thing possible that we could think of to happen to us. It is the punishment for stepping out of line, for doing something that doesn’t follow the heavily regimented rules of the educational system. And here, it is a metaphorical kick in the pants for crossing the friend zone boundary, for taking a chance at something more, and being shrunk back down to size when those feelings go unreciprocated. The morning after, that eternal and timeless moment when regrets are enlarged to colossal catastrophes, tear-soaked pillows and mascara smears are all spelled out in Campbell’s delicate vocals and are felt in each tug on the guitar strings and accentuated by horn flourishes.

This is the kind of thing we’ve been missing for these last eight years. Such great storytelling and musicianship.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2003 list, click here.