Scotland’s Teenage Fanclub left us a rich catalogue of albums that contain some of the most infectious, feel-good, catchy songs you could ever wish for. Albums such as Grand Prix, and Bandwagonesque deserve to be played to death. The Soupdragons, another Scottish band, left us Lovegod and Hotwired to enhance our days.
Drummer Paul Quinn was part of both. In 2002 he formed The Primary 5 and released their first album North Pole on his own Bellbeat Music label. They followed this with appearances at the legendary King Tuts Wah Wah Hut and went on to support the late Arthur Lee & Love on a UK tour.
The second Primary 5 album Go came out in 2006. For this one he was joined by former Teenage Fanclub members Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley. Again, it wasn’t just the music that glowed but also the subsequent reviews.
High Five (Neon Tetra Records) was recorded at the beginning of 2008 at Leeders Farm studio in Norwich. It was produced by Nick Brine (Oasis, Bruce Springsteen, Ash). Norman Blake and Jim McCulloch, who has his own side project with The Green Peppers, both share guitar throughout.
There is little doubt that The Primary 5 have maintained that time honoured tradition set by Teenage Fanclub and can write killer song after killer song. They are impossibly catchy, melodic, infectious, and just damned good. Like a girl’s perfume, it remains long after she has left. The creation of that bitter sweet feeling is their undoubted strength.
Such a casual comparison to one of his previous bands is however more than a little unfair. There is something warmly west coast California in this album. Jangly Byrds' style guitar, some harmonising that CSN & Y would have been proud of help combine together to produce an album that hits all the right spots all the way through.
Music, or rather music of quality, flows from these guys. High Five opens with the single “I Wonder Why?” a track so contagious you would need a head transplant to remove it from your mind completely. The title track eases along in a way that makes it sound familiar even though this is the first time you have heard it.
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