Is there such a thing as a casual Trash Can (or Trashcan, if you prefer) Sinatras fan?

I ask that since every TCS fan I’ve met has been nearly obsessive in their love for the Scottish band, which has been making critically acclaimed, hook-filled jangly pop albums since the early ’90s.Á‚  Unfortunately, sales have never quite matched that acclaim, but a small, devoted cult of fans has supported the group through the lean times, keeping candles burning during years-long gaps between albums and tours.

After getting some radio and MTV notice for their 1990 debut, Cake, the group took nearly four years to follow up with I’ve Seen Everything.Á‚  While I adored Cake, I found …Everything hard going at first, giving it a few shots before giving up on it completely when the hooks didn’t jump out immediately enough for my pleasure.Á‚  My mistake.Á‚  While lead-off single “Hayfever” (download) was actually very catchy, I found it a bit of an anomaly compared to the denseness of the rest of the album.Á‚  And the video got quite a few spins on MTV’s “120 Minutes,” eventually even being featured and mocked on “Beavis & Butthead.”

While I loved “Hayfever,” it wasn’t enough to get me into the rest of the album until a year or so later, when I put …Everything on and just let it play.Á‚  Freed from expectation, the songs revealed previously hidden hooks and accessibility.Á‚  Highlights include “Killing The Cabinet,” the title track, and my favorite, the acoustic-driven “I’m Immortal,” (download) filled with the fantastic wordplay (unintelligible as it sometimes is) the band is famous for:

I took a kick in the confidence, down in the tackle I hurt
I took a shine to your big size tens
Now all around the subject I skirt.
Gingerly, gingerly
And that’s no life at all

Here’s the group performing “I’m Immortal” at a record store appearance last month:

The Sinatras continue to record and tour, with a new single released on iTunes last week, a new album on the way, and remastered versions of their first three albums coming in 2009.Á‚  Good time to be an obsessive or even casual fan of the band.

“Hayfever” peaked at #11 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart in 1993.

Get Trash Can Sinatras music at Amazon or on Trashcan Sinatras

About the Author

John C. Hughes

John C. Hughes began his Lost in the ’80s blog in 2005 and is now proud to be a member of the Popdose family, where he’s introduced LIT80s’s companions, the obviously named Lost in the ’70s and Lost in the ’90s, alongside the slightly more originally named Why You Should Like…

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