Albums

Trashcan Sinatras - In the Music

Miss Fliss 21/09/2009

Rating: 5/5

Autumn is here, and everywhere is crisp crunch underfoot with a chill freshness to the air. Lovers are to be found hand-in-hand on cool strolls. And The Trashcan Sinatras have brought out a delicately exquisite new album. Wispy, sensitive, and lovely, In the Music marks the band's first release in five years. There's a striving for sweet joy in the music and plenty of subtlety of melody at work.

This is my introduction to Trashcan Sinatras, a name I remember from my 90s radio youth. I'm reminded of Felt, with the gentle sweep of sonics, the angelic ambience of the keyboards (sometimes Wurlitzer style) and guitars, and the hush of indie male vocals. At certain points I find myself thinking you could easily mistake the vocals for that of Badly Drawn Boy's.

The production of in the Music is lush and perfectly elegant, making for a soothingly beautiful album. The songs are also the right side of the boundary from here to twee. That is, they're heartfelt without being self-conscious or self-deprecating; they're romantic without bemoaning; and they're poetic without sounding sickly sugary. It's an album with an intimacy that never falters towards sounding so sensitive that it is pale or weak. Above all, it's bittersweet. Star track is Oranges and Apples with its sly Smiths swipe ('nobody noticed…when you cycled by') and tender romanticism of orange blossoms, with a lilting melody that takes your breath away.

On the strength of In the Music, I'm wondering why Trashcan Sinatras isn't a cited name or reference point of inspiration. The Scottish band are brilliant.

In the Music is out now on Lo-Five Records

Trashcan Sinatras Myspace