Teenage Fanclub Recorded Their 13th Album on a Remote Scottish Island and Found Exactly What They Were Looking For

Norman Blake has made twelve albums and still finds naming them difficult. The thirteenth is called Do Not Dare to Dream, which is also the title of a Blake song that gently pushes back on hollow optimism. “Those ‘dare to dream’ sentiments are kind of ridiculous,” he says. “I don’t think the world works that way.” It’s a wry provocation that opens into something warmer: resilience, taking stock without succumbing to despair, finding clarity in everyday moments. For nearly four decades, that has been what Teenage Fanclub do, and they continue to do it here.

Do Not Dare to Dream was recorded at Black Bay Studio on Great Bernera, a remote Scottish island. The location put the band in a state of awe: crashing sea, ancient ruins, and a Domus church organ they found at the studio and used prominently across several tracks. Norman Blake, Raymond McGinley, Euros Childs, Francis Macdonald, and David McGowan have now played together long enough that neither Blake nor McGinley needs to fuss over songs or work out arrangements before they enter the room. They’d rather wait for the rest of the group’s input. “Day in the Sun” is the lead single, a melodic meditation on renewal filmed on location at Black Bay by Donald Milne.

Do Not Dare to Dream arrives October 9 on Merge Records. Pre-order below.

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1“There Was You”

2“Tomorrow People”

3“Over and Over”

4“Be With You Tonight”

5“The Same Air”

6“I Do Not Dare to Dream”

7“Take Time”

8“Day in the Sun”

9“Somewhere to Land”

10“Young and Wise”