Frankie and the Heartstrings - Hunger, a review

I have a big pile-up of requests and own personal interests to review but have scarcely given them any listening attention, so instead I'll turn back to something from February I wasn't particularly sure on until recently.

Regular followers of this blog will see that last week I pointed out the certain 'Britishness' about North-East bands; a slight brusqueness in their lyricism, set to typically British sounds. Well another case in point for this would be Frankie and the Heartstrings, a band that can't quite possibly be as bad as their haircuts, their name, styling and album sleeve an immediate hint at a 50s revival of contemptuous cool and rock's core aggressive stance.

Opener 'Photograph' spits out with angst and the pursuit of a girl, whilst guitars twang and basslines thud with a universally-pleasing resonance; the rhythm rapidly increasing with furtiveness to a not-altogether perfectly executed crescendo. 'Ungrateful' however thrusts various riffs in your face that it's difficult not to immerse yourself in the lust-driven revelrie; repeated lyrics helping to drum in those hooks to your subconscious.


The title track (I always find albums with title tracks so comforting, I'm not sure why. It's like a little note saying "Yeah! Me again!" and it makes you question Revolver and Rubber Soul for being so etymologically slutty)...yes anyway, the title track, could quite easily be lifted from a FIFA soundtrack with its kind of Junior Senior-cum Franz Ferdinand's snappy nature so easily effective it could be prescribed as a cure to depression. 'Possibilities' passes by in a short breeze of pop sentimentality without much attention (although riffs dizzy themselves into a fervour), whilst 'Fragile' is your typical "Oh we have to slow things down a bit I guess otherwise people will think we're trying too hard" - not going to be anyone's favourite and a wide way off their target audience's demands - but producer Edwyn Collins' influences are quite distinct, a great deal of romanticism is heaped on.

Glockenspiels and jerky riffs give 'Tender' a sincerely cute quality, likely to be the indie-girl's favourite, complete with "yeah!"s and "woo!"s to tick every pop-rock cliché. And then they laugh before 'That Postcard' in one of those slightly irritating "Oh look, we're a right laugh, we forgot to omit that chortle during production" moments that are really too insignificant to get properly vitriolic against - especially when the tunes roll out as easily as this. There's a very Franz Ferdinand "Matinee" quality to 'It's Obvious', being all pouty vocal delivery and percussions that just make you want to dance like a twat.


'Want You Back' throws in a bit of brass to vary things up a little unconvincingly but with similarly pleasant effect - before the closer 'Don't Look Surprised' wraps things up with yet another cascade of endearing riffs and foot-tappingly catchy beats.

If anything there's a concern that FATH might disappear into the tide of aspiring guitar-wielding "fun time"rs, as an increasingly bleak political scale cuts out opportunities for light relief. Nonetheless, they've accomplished a solid album that deserves the same form of mainstream attention as The View, Franz Ferdinand or The Fratellis.

Rating: 7/10
Highlights: Hunger, Ungrateful, Possibilities, Tender
Avoid: Fragile