Teenage Fanclub Loses the Love

Modern Rock

By Kristi Kates | Sept. 15, 2018

Teenage Fanclub has announced that its longtime bassist and vocalist Gerard Love will leave this fall, following the band’s Nov. 15 show at London’s Electric Ballroom. The band plans to carry on without Love for the rest of the tour, on which former bandmates Paul Quinn and Brendan O’Hare will return in an attempt to fill the musical gap left by Love. The reason for Love’s departure was termed as a “sadly unresolvable difference of opinion” …

A benefit concert put on by The Americana Music Association and The Blues Foundation will help support the groups’ mission to promote and preserve the traditions of American music. Expect performances from Lee Ann Womack, Shemekia Copeland, John Prine, Bob Weir, Doyle Branhall II, and more, all under the direction of musical director and house band leader Jimmy Vivino, otherwise known as the frontman of Conan O’ Brien’s Basic Cable Band.The show will take place on Friday, Oct.19 at the Ace Theater in Los Angeles. Tickets for that event are on sale now …

“Sometimes I feel I’ve got to [bomp bomp] run away … .” That classic lyric from the Soft Celltrack “Tainted Love” was the tune that made the band a one-hit wonder (OK, maybe two-hit wonder, if you count “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye”), but now Soft Cell is on its way back with its first new song in over 15 years. The new track, “Northern Lights,” was recorded for Soft Cell’s upcoming compilation album, The Singles – Keychains and Snowstorms, which will hit outlets this week via Universal Records. An expanded box set will also be released, with a whopping nine CDs plus a four-hour DVD …

Too early for Christmas? Not for vintage rocker Eric Clapton.The musician has announced that he’s releasing a holiday album this year (simply titled Happy Xmas) that will feature him performing Christmas songs with a blues twist. One of the songs, “Jingle Bells (In Memory of Avicii),” is dedicated to Avicii, the late DJ who suffered from substance abuse, as Clapton did early in his life. Happy Xmas will be released Oct. 12 on Clapton’s own Surfdog Records label, directly following the musician’s Madison Square Garden (NYC) concerts on Oct. 6 and 7 …
 
LINK OF THE WEEK
Nothing But Thieves cranked out a fun set at Triple J Radio recently. One of the highlights: the band’s accelerating cover of Gang of Youths’ “What Can I Do if the Fire Goes Out?” Check out NBT’s unique take on the track at youtube.com/watch?v=WxDq6k5hNfE …

THE BUZZ
We Were Promised Jetpacks will zip into The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor for a concert on Sept. 23 …
Detroit’s Punk Archive Project is working to spotlight the hidden history of the city’s punk music scene since it’s 1979 beginnings; the project just gained a $15,000 grant to continue efforts …
Adam Levine and Maroon 5, with opening act Julia Michaels,will be perform at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit on Sept. 30 …

Singer-songwriter James Bay will be live in Detroit, too — on Sept 20 at the Masonic Temple Theater … and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.
 
Comments, questions, rants, raves, suggestions on this column? Send ’em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com.