Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Member since:29.08.2002
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Over the last couple of years Franz Ferdinand have really been putting Scottish music back on the British musical map. With the resurgence in Scotland has seen new bands spring up all over the place and in particular Glasgow seems to be boasting the best new bands. The next band tipped for big things are The Fratellis who seem to have come from nowhere to have one of the most memorable Festival songs of the summer. Having only played their first gig in 2005 the release of their debut album in September seems quite a meteoric rise.
It's not just the speed of the release and the bands success, this debut effort was recorded over in Los Angeles, not exactly the usual recording destination for a first album. This showed that their record company had faith in them and that seems to be repaid on the album. In fact if it hadn't been for Justin Timberlake's latest album being released the same day The Fratellis could have gone straight into the number one spot on the album chart. Quite a feat for a band who seem to have appeared
from out of the blue.
There have been many rumours about where the bands name actually came from but recently it would seem the true story has been let out the bag. The band have infact named themselves The Fratellis as it is Bass player Barry's surname. Of course aside from all this the band seem to have quite a wide variety of influences. Throughout the album there is a constant feel of the 70's rock vibe. In places there are clear influences of bands like T Rex while in others there are more recent influences such as Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys. It's strange to think those Sheffield boys are already influencing new bands.
The three piece seem to have mastered the skill of making nice pacey songs with a decent beat. The guitars obviously take the lead with the bass and lead guitar really complimenting each other perfectly. The drumbeat ensures that the album sticks to a pretty constant pace and that's what really gives The Fratellis the appeal. In an album full of 3 minute tracks they do it in such a way that the album seems to really get into your head and makes you want to sing along. At times the arrangements are quite simplistic but this is a decent Indie album and the vocals only back that up.
The real highlight for me on this album are Jon's vocals. For a new band you would normally expect a little bit of doubt in the lead singers voice but Jon seems to be beaming with confidence. That really shows as he rips through tracks like "Chelsea Dagger" and "Creepin Up The Backstairs". The album is lyrically quite good and when you combine that with Jon's vocals I find it quite hard not to be singing along, especially when I'm in the car going to work. For a band so new to the musical scene this is a very well rounded album from the Vocals and lyrics to the musical element.
The album has the sort of feel about it that grows on you almost instantly. Having been to Reading Festival this year I was familiar with "Chelsea Dagger" and had also heard Henrietta a couple of times on various radio stations but I was quite surprised by how quickly I took to the album. It's full of quite infectious tracks that really are quite easy to enjoy. There were a couple of tracks beyond the two singles I'd heard that I seemed to really take to.
The first of those was "For The Girl", it's quite a quirky number and follows on really well from "Chelsea Dagger". It has quite a simple structure to it but it moves along quite quickly and the guitars really take the lead while the drums keep time perfectly. The other real stand out track for me has to be "Baby Fratelli". It's another quite fast paced track and although the lyrics don't exactly make a lot of sense it sounds it should. It's one of those tracks that really makes you feel uplifted a little. All in all though I can't say that I personally think there are any bad tracks on the album, but then that's always a matter of personal taste.
Overall though this is a very good debut album from Glasgow's The Fratellis. It has quite a good pace about it and certainly can't be described as dull. There is something slightly different about it to the other artists breaking through at the moment and maybe that's why it has stood out for me. The 70's feel to the music really works and the overall feel of the album seems to suggest a real Indie Rock resurgence could be on the way. My advice would be to grab a copy of this album and see for yourself.
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I've only heard a couple of their tracks but think they're great. Sx
cocoklo 28.12.2006 21:03
This is a fabulous album!!! My boyfriend got us tickets to see them for my christmas; in Glasgow, where they are worshipped and adored.. I understand that, being a Glasgow girl myself; we stand by our own.. Hehe.. Apparently when they supported Kasabian in Glasgow, the crowd wouldn't stop singing Chelsea Dagger when Kasabian came on stage... Shame for Kasabian (also a good band!!), but it was probably a damn nice wee pat on the back for the Fratellis.. Nothing shouts louder, YOUR HOMETOWN LOVES YOU and so does the rest of the country!!! Yay.. Great review.. Chloe x
stoner2000uk 29.11.2006 01:08
Really good review, was suprised at some of the details about how the band started and was interested in the history too.
Great album!
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