"Life is short, but music is eternal": Teenage Fanclub announce thirteenth album, Do Not Dare To Dream

The new album follows 2023's Nothing Lasts Forever, with lead single “Day In The Sun” offering the first preview of the collection of songs. The track is described as a "meditation on renewal and shifting perspective", and arrives alongside a video filmed by Donald Milne.

The album title comes from a turn of phrase, as singer Norman Blake found hollowness in the slogan "dare to dream". "Those 'dare to dream' sentiments are kind of ridiculous," he says. "I don't think the world works that way." In line with Blake's outlook, Do Not Dare To Dream finds Teenage Fanclub navigating uncertainty with a sense of grounding and resilience, as co-founder Raymond McGinley explains: "We can still be cheerful and optimistic in the face of things not being great."

The band recorded the songs at Black Bay Studios on the remote Isle of Great Bernera — their most isolated studio location to date — where they were surrounded by the sea and ancient ruins. Joined by longtime members Euros Childs, Francis Macdonald and David McGowan, they made use of what the studio had to offer, including a Domus church organ that features prominently across the record and a variety of synthesisers.

Reflecting on the experience of making music with Teenage Fanclub over the years, Blake says: "I think what happens is you just move from one thing into the next and before you know it, 30 years have passed." McGinley adds: "Life is short, but music is eternal."

Just ahead of the album's release, the band will tour extensively from September through November, with UK and Ireland dates running from 3 November in Cambridge to 21 November in Glasgow. Several shows, including both nights at Glasgow's Saint Luke's and a date at Hackney Church in London, have already sold out.

Do Not Dare To Dream artwork

Do Not Dare To Dream tracklist

“There Was You”
“Tomorrow People”
“Over and Over”
“Be With You Tonight”
“The Same Air”
“I Do Not Dare To Dream”
“Take Time”
“Day In The Sun”
“Somewhere To Land”
“Young And Wise”