Ten years between albums is a long time, but Trashcan Sinatras sound like they never left. The legendary Scottish five-piece have announced their seventh album ‘Ever The Optimist,’ due July 31, and launched it with “Bad Husband,” a duet featuring Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura. Produced by Paul Savage, drummer of The Delgados and a trusted collaborator with Mogwai, Teenage Fanclub, and Arab Strap, the album also features a collaboration with Green Gartside of Scritti Politti, leaning into gentle experimentation while staying rooted in the melodic, lyrically driven guitar pop the band has always championed.
“Bad Husband” is an upbeat, primary-colored hop that cheerfully contradicts its subject matter, with Campbell’s voice wrapping around Francis Reader’s lead as both protagonists admit their failures with surprising joy. Reader sums it up perfectly: “Never has separation sounded quite so celebratory.” The accompanying video, directed by Chris Dooley and shot in Los Angeles, stars real-life married actors Paul F. Tompkins and Janie Haddad Tompkins, whose improvised exchanges blur the line between performance and documentary reality. ‘Ever The Optimist’ arrives July 31 on vinyl, collectors’ edition vinyl, CD, and digital.
‘Ever The Optimist’ Track List:
Ever The Optimist
Games For The ZX Spectrum
Bad Husband (ft. Tracyanne Campbell)
The Bitter End
A View From Nowhere
Hold On To Today (ft. Green Gartside)
The Associated Funk
Rome
Melodramatic
Birds I Couldn’t Identify
Learning To Love Your Ghost