"Hayfever" is a song by Scottish band

The Trash Can Sinatras Trashcan Sinatras are a Scottish band that were formed in Irvine, Scotland in 1986. The band's music makes frequent use of pop harmonies and wordplay. History Formation The band members met through the club/pub music scene in Irvine. The o ...

, which was released in 1993 as the lead single from their second studio album '' I've Seen Everything''. The song was written by all five band members and produced by

Ray Shulman Raymond Shulman (born 8 December 1949) is a Scottish musician, and the youngest of three brothers in progressive rock band Gentle Giant. Shulman was born in Portsmouth. His father was a trumpet player in a jazz band, and that was the first inst ...

. "Hayfever" reached No. 61 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and No. 11 in the ''

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chart.

Background

"Hayfever" was recorded at Shabby Road Studios in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and mixed at Orinoco Studios in London.

Critical reception

Upon its release as a single, Paul Mathar of ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' commented, "Another daft name, and another pleasant surprise. Trash Can Sinatras seem to have undergone some sort of salvation, deciding they don't really care whether anyone likes them or not and with that carelessness has come the revelation that maybe they're rather good after all." Johnny Dee of ''

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'' was less enthusiastic and described the song as an example of the "kind of music that American College Radio laps up as quality British indie rock and that, coincidentally, no one in Britain seems to like". He added, "MOR fear holds anyone back from truly loving the Trash Cans, they sound just a little too serious and keen on over-production." In a review of ''I've Seen Everything'', Scott Bacon of ''

The Indianapolis Star ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the ''Indianap ...

'' described "Hayfever" as "bouncy" and considered the song to have "hit written all over it". He also praised Nick Ingham's string arrangement which he felt "enhance the song. Brad Webber of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' commented, "On 'Hayfever', Reader wistfully sings about solving life's problems 'with a couple of tablets'."

Track listing

7-inch and cassette single # "Hayfever" – 3:15 # "Say" – 2:51 12-inch and CD single # "Hayfever" – 3:15 # "Say" – 2:51 # "Kangaroo Court" – 3:02 # "Skin Diving" – 3:47

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the UK CD single liner notes and the ''I've Seen Everything'' booklet. The Trash Can Sinatras * Frank Reader – vocals, guitar * Paul Livingston – guitar * John Douglas – guitar * David Hughes – bass * Stephen Douglas – drums Additional personnel * Larry Primrose – piano on "Hayfever" * Nick Ingham – string arrangement on "Hayfever" Production *

– producer, engineer, mixing * Larry Primrose – engineer, mixing Other * John Douglas – sleeve painting

Charts

References

{{The Trash Can Sinatras 1993 songs 1993 singles Go! Discs singles