CT-10 Screen Prints - In a Daze
January 8, 2023
Manchester’s Screen Prints are one of the most underrated bands in the history of indie pop. Originally active between 1997 and 2000, the duo, consisting of Derby natives Justin Hughes and Declan Meehan, have since returned with a compilation, Hum and Hiss, as well as a highly anticipated debut album, European Jeans.
Screen Prints’ trademark sound is lo-fi and jangly, but never overbearingly twee. Classic tracks from their initial run, such as “Missed” and “Willow Kiss,” are reminiscent of Big Star, Teenage Fanclub, and Elephant 6 at their respective peaks. Last year's European Jeans, which was recorded intermittently between 2010 and 2018, is just as incredible, demonstrating a more polished sound without losing the achingly beautiful melodies and introspective songwriting that made them shine at the turn of the century.
Upon discovering Screen Prints’ catalog (through a seriously addictive cover of the Band’s “Christmas Must Be Tonight”), I reached out to them to make a mix. The result is In a Daze, which, according to Meehan, contains “mainly songs we've been enjoying over the past year or so, with a few old favourites that are probably key to the Screen Prints sound.”
Listen and download below. European Jeans is out now via Fastcut Records. — Marcel Sletten
Artwork by Teresa Meehan