Album Review - Frankie & The Heartstrings - The Days Run Away

Album Rating: B

It's difficult to decipher quite how a band as inconsequential as Frankie & The Heartstrings can become so influential. Not ones for sonic adventure, the Sunderland five-piece all but concede their music to be bereft of originality - and some would even say ambition - having shown little to no interest in breaking free of pop music's established conventions. In a way, it's a self-imposed limitation which sums up a group who for all their strengths have always seemed somewhat out of place, especially given they arrived too late to capitalise on mid-'00s indie trends. It's startling, then, that Frankie Francis and company have nevertheless wound up doing rather well for themselves. 2011's debut LP Hunger, for instance, served up a delightful array of jangling gems, brimming with both personality and surprising reserves of staying power, but what's followed has arguably proved even more vital in their journey to prominence.

Artist Of The Day: Frankie & The Heartstrings

It'd labour the point to say it's not before time, but a new Frankie & The Heartstrings record does nevertheless seem somewhat overdue. Believe it or not, it's little over two years since the Sunderland quintet unveiled their tremendous debut Hunger, but anticipation - coupled with tantalising early glimpses of a follow-up - have conspired to make this decidedly average gap resemble a gaping colourless void. Thankfully, that interval is nearing its end, with this week finally bringing the announcement of The Days Run Away, which is due to hit shelves on May 27. Overlooking the production skills of their very own Mick Ross, the LP (partly funded by those Dominos pizza ads) was instead overseen by former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, whose polished pop sheen has already been heard on the likes of "Everybody Looks Better (In The Right Light)," "I Still Follow You" and "Nothing Our Way." Those are by no means the only cuts that'll be familiar to fans either, with many having been showcased live over the past year or so; perhaps as a means of testing the waters before committing them to the studio. So what should we expect? Certainly nothing groundbreaking or any radical sonic departures - just another collection of perfectly written, mildly flamboyant indie-pop nuggets from a group who've already proven themselves to be among the best in the business.

Jukebox: Frankie & The Heartstrings - "I Still Follow You"

Frankie & The Heartstrings have been busy in the year and a half since the release of debut LP Hunger. As well as dropping a satisfying non-album single in "Everybody Looks Better In The Right Light," the Sunderland-based quintet have also been hard at work reinvigorating the North East's music scene with their Pop Sex Ltd label, providing an enthusiastic base from which fledgling acts such as The Neat and Ajimal have shot to similar levels of excellence. Thankfully, all this extracurricular activity has done nothing to quell commitment to the day job, as evidenced by the fact they've spent much of recent months locked away in a recording studio with former Suede man Bernard Butler. Indeed the first taste from those sessions, "I Still Follow You" suggests the group are going from strength to strength; refining past formulas whilst also adding a fresh dimension to their gloriously vigorous indie pop sound.

Live Review: Frankie & The Heartstrings, Hoults Yard Newcastle, 10/05/2012

The Neat, Let's Buy Happiness and Frankie & The Heartstrings; three of Northern England's hottest properties, all crammed under one roof, in a city warehouse, in a two-and-a-half hour time span. Not bad for £7. Ok, the stated purpose of the show was to showcase material from Frankie's in-the-works sophomore record, but given the calibre and locality of the supporting cast it felt like so much more.

The Daily Blair: New Muzik Monday (2/6/12)

Some new music for your Monday. Enjoy!

1. Telekinesis - 12 Desperate Straight Lines

Early Rating: B+

Check It Out

12 Desperate Straight Lines is a great reminder that desperation does not have to mean depression. Even though the album is filled with songs about desperation, car crashes, broken hearts, death, and "getting it right" the album is never really depressing because of the bands unique and aggressive sound. Each song sounds like a cool combination of the songwriting of Built To Spill, the instrumentation of the Strokes, Led Zeppelin, and The Killers, the gigantic arena rock choruses of Arcade Fire and Queen, and the unique subject matters not even presented in most concept albums. It is an album that says "even though I just lost my love I am desperate to find another lover" with every aggressive guitar riff, it is an album that says "I might have just got in a terrible car crash but I am desperate to have a second chance at life" with every witty and condescending lyric, it is an album that says "even though I am dead I am desperate to go to the next life" with every earth shattering chorus, and it is an album that leaves us desperate for more Telekinesis. It is an album of unique and hopeful desperation that seems to be lost in the depressed world of 2012.

Live Review: The Vaccines, O2 Academy Newcastle, 21/11/2011

Their impact hasn't quite reverberated overseas, but in the UK at least The Vaccines have been the new band of 2011. Fresh from an a prestigious slot opening for the Arctic Monkeys and having comprehensively smashed the summer festivals, this really has been an enormous year for the London quartet, and as such there wasn't a ticket to spare for this -the first date on their biggest headline tour to date. In fact, their popularity is such that this particular run of dates was more akin to a victory lap than a promotional jaunt, something which was reflected by the celebratory atmosphere from the moment they took to the stage. On top of that, the main support of the night came from excellent local indie-pop band Frankie & The Heartstrings, meaning that this particular gig often felt like a co-headliner what with the reception they received from the appreciative home crowd.

Live Review: Leeds Festival 2011, Part 2 Of 3

One of Leeds festival's biggest traditions is the presence of a Main Stage 'rock day,' and this year that label clearly fell on the Saturday. This tends to be my favourite leg of the three-day event, but this time the schedule seemed fairly weak. My Chemical Romance were underwhelming headliners, and were mostly joined on the bill by over-the-hill punk bands and metalcore scenesters, though in fairness Rise Against and Deftones were notable exceptions. Thankfully, the lineup on the NME/Radio 1 Stage looked far healthier, with some of the best emerging names in indie stuffing a bill which was unfortunately topped by the most unworthy of headliners in Beady Eye. Saturday also saw the punk-orientated Lock-Up Stage transformed into the Dance Stage, the schedule on which held no appeal to me whatsoever, but luckily this was cancelled out by the Festival Republic tent, which had another strong-looking day in prospect.

SATURDAY (27/08/2011)

Day two also proved far more forgiving on the weather front, but that didn't stop fans from once again packing the NME/Radio 1 tent to capacity. First up on that stage were Pulled Apart By Horses, for whom this festival appearance also represented a homecoming show. This was the third time that I've seen them live, and each time has been better than the last. The Yorkshire quartet bridge the gap between hardcore and good old fashioned rock 'n' roll, and if you're still looking for a reason to like them they also have a song called 'I Punched A Lion In The Throat.' They played that as the closer, and it capped off a very solid performance which went down a storm with the audience, many of whom will have followed these local heroes from the start.

Album Review: Frankie & The Heatrstrings - Hunger

We’ve had a pretty depressing lack of good indie-pop here in the UK over the past few years. Sure, there have been plenty of bands breaking through, but none in the vain of Franz Ferdinand or Maximo Park who made the art of writing an irresistible hook sound effortless when the genre was in an altogether more healthy state little over five years ago. Nowadays, we’re stuck with bands who value brains above danceability, which has left us with a batch of interesting, but ultimately soulless music which takes far more effort to enjoy – effort which, to be frank, is better exerted elsewhere. What most these bands don’t seem to understand is that while technical rhythms and outlandish influences can occasionally work a treat, there is still little that beats a good, catchy tune, and that sometimes the simplest pleasures can, in fact, be the best.