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"Howdy!" marks the sixth commercial release for Teenage Fanclub principals' Raymond McGinley, Norman Blake, and Gerard Love. Having spent the better part of a decade with little more than indie level recognition, you'd think the Scottish power popsters would be embittered by their lackluster chart success. Far from being soured, "Howdy!" -- with its jocularly dismissive title and album cover artwork more befitting a preschool pencil sketch -- reaffirms Teenage Fanclub as premier craftsmen of joyful, unadulterated pop. This is a collection of happy songs, yes, but deceptively so. Beneath the whimsical album title and colorful melodies, the boys are clearly dragging some emotional baggage. Fortunately, the Fannies were never ones to hide their feelings.

Ever the democracy, McGinley, Blake, and Love share songwriting responsibilities, with each contributing four tracks to the album. McGinley, chronically overshadowed by his bandmates, proves himself to be a more disciplined composer with each album. "The Sun Shines From You" is a standout. With its acoustically-charged riff and cheerful melody, the song is tailor-made for carefree summer days. "I Can't Find My Way Home" and "Happiness" are mature efforts as well, though McGinley's voice does tend to wear on the listener after a few tracks. Just when I thought the Fannies had abandoned their penchant for endless fadeouts, McGinley steps up to the plate with "My Uptight Life". In the time it took this song to fade from chorus, I could have married, raised children, and put them through college. Though slightly overdone, the song is a pleasant reminder of Fannie fadeouts past.

Perhaps my expectations of Norman Blake are too high. Considering he's penned such Fanclub classics as "The Concept", "Neil Jung", and "Planets", my hopes for his latest compositions could not have been anything less than lofty. This may explain why I came away from "Howdy!" feeling slightly disappointed. "Dumb Dumb Dumb" is a bland effort that would have benefited greatly from a chorus or middle eight. "Accidental Life" and "Straight and Narrow", while not without their charm, lack the usual Blakean flare. Blake's strongest contribution, "If I Never See You Again", is an emotional acoustic piece that would fit equally as well on any R.E.M. album (perhaps the Fannies' tour with the Georgia-based lads rubbed off on Norman more than he realized). The delicate song is a fitting closer for the album. A good collection of Blake songs, but Fanclub fans have grown accustomed to greatness.

Odds are Gerard Love won't be sainted in his lifetime or beyond. However, it is a safe bet the musical gods will one day welcome him into their midst. Assuming, of course, Love hasn't already achieved a higher plane of awareness (how else can one explain Gerry's ability to write such divine music?). "I Need Direction", with its Beatlesque drum fills and 'bah bah bah' backing vocals, oozes 60's nostalgia. "The Town and the City" has a rousing enough horn section and an infectious rhythm to challenge "The Sun Shines From You" as the feel-good-track of the album. While "Cul De Sac" might initially strike the listener as a down-tempo version of Fanclub's "Speed of Light", the song is both evocative and original in its own right. "Near You" is Howdy's signature track. The song is simply euphoric, particularly during the hookline: "I get near, but I never seem to reach you." The listening experience is akin to a flying dream, where you're soaring blissfully above the heavens. Yes, the song is that good! What is even more amazing is when you peruse the Teenage Fanclub catalogue, you'll discover that Love has penned several equally inspiring songs.

"Howdy!" is very good album, an absolute must for any completist, but the band has done better. I recently reviewed Teenage Fanclub's previous release, "Songs from Northern Britain".... New fans may wish to start with this album, instead, or perhaps "Grand Prix", arguably the Fannies' catchiest collection of songs to date. In the end, it doesn't really matter where you begin your collection. Once you've listened to one album, you'll likely buy all the others as well. Then you can see for yourself why "Howdy!" really is a five-star album.


Feelgood hit of the winter   January 16, 2001
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

After a 3 year brake are the singer-.songwriter trinity of Blake, McGinley and Love back with their sixth studio album. And of course, they don`t disappoint. It all starts with the imminent first single "I need direction" with ba-ba-ba backing and the airy composition we have missed on the last couple of albums. It goes on with Raymond Mcginley compositions like the acoustic "Happiness" and feel good melodys like "I Can`t Find My Way Home" and "The Sun It Shines From You". This is different from all the sad, insensitive, cynisme, that has stamped weight to much of british pop music after "Ok, Computer." Howdy is Beach Boys, Beatles, Bigstar and Byrds, but most of all it`s Teenage Fanclub.


Pop's saviors, once again.   October 31, 2000
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

When I listen to Teenage Fanclub, I am thoroughly convinced that no one on earth has ever made such beautiful music. It's not really true, but it's also not much of a stretch.

Howdy is TFC's first release since 1997's Songs From Northern Britain, and while it may not be as uniformly lovely as that album, or as viscerally exciting as Bandwagonesque or Thirteen, it's certainly welcome and worthy of the Teenage Fanclub name. Howdy is probably stronger song-by-song than Grand Prix and will certainly please their cult fan base. And maybe make a few new ones among the million or so folks who purchased the most recent Travis album, which this crushes like a grape. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

What to expect? More of the same, mostly. Norman contributes the stunningly melodic "Accidental Life" and the bittersweet Chilton/Bell-esque "If I Never See You Again", and the hypnotic "Dumb Dumb Dumb", and (probably) my personal favorite, the radiant "Straight And Narrow"; Raymond comes through on the brilliant "I Can't Find My Way Home", and the gorgeous "Happiness", and Gerry expands his already overflowing songbook of bright pop gems with "Near You", the soul-tinged "Cul-De-Sac", and "I Need Direction", Howdy's Association-esque first single.

While it lacks Songs From Northern Britain's uniformed vision (and its ensemble harmonies), Howdy is more wonderful music from a band we are all lucky to share the planet with. Buy it now, and smile tomorrow.


Still Gorgeous   November 10, 2000
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

In response to the review below that criticized Howdy in the face of Songs From Northern Britain, I feel the record deserves more listens. Right out of the wrapper, I agree it seemed a bit pale, but after four or five run throughs, some tracks surfaced as perfect, perfect Fanclub songs. Love's "I Need Direction" (what a chorus) and "Near You" (there are the layers the below review claimed to miss) along with Blake's "Dumb Dumb Dumb" (hit me on the third try) and "If I Never See You Again" (they still love Big Star)are fantastic.


The most underrated band of the 90's.   October 29, 2000
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Alright, so Bandwagonesque was SPIN magazine's #1 best album of the year. But since then TFC have been unjustly ignored in the US (and even in the UK to an extent). I'm sure this unfortunate trend will continue with "Howdy," but let me tell you...you guys are missing out! I have only listened to the album a couple times through so far, but Howdy contains some of their best songs - Cul De Sac, My Uptight Life, Near You, Dumb Dumb Dumb, The Sun Shines From You, and the perfect closer, If I Never See You Again. And of course, I Need Direction, the first single. Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba Baaaa!