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Here is an album with all-new complexity, unforseen depth and many delightful hidden layers.
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Man-Made is among the finest collections of pop songs any of us will hear all year.
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Man-Made is, to be sure, the least immediate record Teenage Fanclub has made since Thirteen, but at a compact and finely-tuned forty-two minutes it avoids the flaws of that under-edited and under-cooked record and nestles itself softly into the heart of every TFC fan as another low-key modern classic.
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You may need to spend a little more time getting to know the Fanclub these days, but without any clutter you get closer, deeper, right to the very heart of it all - emotionally and musically.
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MojoA classic Fannies record with scant regard for prescribed notions of cool. [Jun 2005, p.104]
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Q MagazineWith each release, they tweak and slightly reinvent their wheel--and use it, happily, to keep on trucking. [Jun 2005, p.112]
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If the sparse approach to sound and instrumentation is thoroughly 21st century... the vocals are squarely in the Byrds/Beach Boys tradition, at times almost outshining their role models.
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UncutA slate-cleaning exercise that positively radiates contentment. [Jun 2005, p.102]
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PopMattersReview #1: If you love 4/4 time pop, this is for you. If you don't, you'll be converted. [score=80]; Review #2: If it has a fault, it would be an overall lack of immediacy... But this is still a damn fine pop album. [score=80]
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Man-Made has just as many buzzy electric guitars and bashing drums as other Teenage Fanclub records, but they're mixed into something softer and more pillowy.
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It is immediately more slanted than their standard fare - incorporating electronic elements and seething mystery at times - but it still sounds like Teenage Fanclub, which is, on all counts, a thoroughly good thing.
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UrbThe harmonies resonate and the melodies hook into your skull. [Jul/Aug 2005, p.109]
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While nobody could accuse Teenage Fanclub of taking huge creative risks, more often than not the tracks on Man-Made do resemble something along the lines of '70s soft rock group America backed by Stereolab -- which is a very cool thing.
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Five years is a long time to make fans wait, but the quality of the material and willingness to tinker with their fairly rigid pop formula has resulted in another memorable, extremely listenable collection of songs.
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The results are predictably wonderful.
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You could dismiss Teenage Fanclub as not being original, but that would be missing the point. Instead, appreciate a group that, in 2005, can create absolutely perfect songs that somehow manage to channel the magic of early-to-mid-'60s pop-rock.
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FilterThey've certainly found a solid niche with the Big Star/Byrds bubble and pop. [#16, p.91]
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This is a mature, reflective work (read: repeated spins are expected to reveal the deeper layers), the sound of a veteran group content with its cult status and simply playing to its strengths: Smartly crafted guitar-pop that will appeal to the faithful and perhaps add an adherent or two.
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Man-Made ultimately sounds exactly like you'd expect a Teenage Fanclub album to sound, but with just enough extra to make it feel new again.
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Eerie and lovely, this is the sound of a band that's managed to mature with dark dignity.
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Paste MagazineThe material is as hit-and-miss as previous TFC records, but this is the liveliest disc the band has put out since Bandwagonesque in 1991. [#16, p.134]
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At worst, McEntire renders the songs on Man-Made a tad monochromatic. Most of the time, the production and songs come together seamlessly.
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MagnetA sweet deja vu, it's 1991 over again. [#68, p.111]
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Entertainment WeeklyFeels like Teenage Fanclub's winter CD, owing a debt more to the mopey introspection and sparse arrangements of Nick Drake. [17 June 2005, p.83]
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New Musical Express (NME)Ultimately, the album is weighed down by its very gentleness. [30 Apr 2005, p.64]
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Alternative PressToo many tunes struggle to remind listeners of their catchiness. [Aug 2005, p.166]
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Under The RadarA little too straight--a little too synthetic--to be truly memorable. [#10, p.114]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 21 out of 23
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Mixed: 1 out of 23
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Negative: 1 out of 23
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Dec 3, 2013
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NDBrownAug 23, 2006
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JPNeskerDec 30, 2005