Trashcan Sinatras

In the ’90s, the Trashcan Sinatras marched onto the alternative/college radio music scene with both critical and fan acclaim, and three albums released in quick succession. Then things went bad; with the demise of GO! Discs, the Sinatras found themselves without a label and, worse, broke. In the following years, they gigged around, selling discs independently from their website and raising money to record what would become Weightlifting, their fourth full-length, and first self-financed record. From the opening chords of this album, the listener is pitched back into the Brit glory days of the mid-’90s. A time brimming with melodic vocals and jangly guitars, a place that feels a bit dated now after the turn of the new millennium, but remains a guilty pleasure and fond place of nostalgia and memory just the same. And the Trashcan Sinatras capture it all in this collection of new songs that feel displaced from an old decade, but are wonderful just the same. Many of the compositions wander into slower, quieter places of lyrical introspection about love and love astray, while other upbeat numbers seem thrown in for good measure, abound with delightfully catchy guitar melodies and hopeful vocals. Highlights include the more melancholic offerings (including "A Coda” and "Trouble Sleeping,” an ode to an unsolved child murder). The deluxe edition of Weightlifting purportedly ships with two bonus tracks and a DVD of a live studio performance. It is worth noting for fans and collectors alike, the first 5000 copies of the deluxe edition feature CD booklets hand-signed by the Sinatras themselves.