Man-Made

There are few bands that failed as spectacularly to capitalize on their initial hype as Scotland’s Teenage Fanclub. Their 1991 album, Bandwagonesque was met with breathless praise—this was a band that was supposed to be right there with Nirvana and R.E.M. blazing the path for '90s alt-rock. Obviously, it didn’t work out that way for the Fannies, but on their latest outing, Man-Made, the songs seem to flow as effortlessly as they always did: “Time Stops” is a gleaming power-pop gem that imagines a world where Big Star was bigger than the Beatles, and jangling guitars mix with the warm whine of keyboards on the exuberant “Slow Fade.” John McEntire’s production is kind of precious at times, but the fact that it fails to strangle the joy from these tunes is a testament to how damn good they are.