The Fratellis – Here We Stand

I won’t lie to you, I’m a huge fan of The Fratellis and have seen them live twice now and I hadn’t even heard the second album before I saw it performed live. There aren’t many cases when this would be a good way to do it but this time was different. In some ways I think this helped the listening of the album without hindering the enjoyment of the live performance because the songs on this album are all so easy to pick up you can learn the lyrics to the chorus half way through the live performance of it which is a unique talent that The Fratellis seem to have.

There are so many catchy, easy listening songs on this album it does not involve a lot of concentration. The best example of this is the third track Shameless, which contains a punchier opening than the previous 2 opening songs and makes a good attempt at a catchy riff. Put that together with a very good chorus and you have an easy sing along track which was a highlight of mine from the live gig and very reminiscent of the first album.

This was aided very much by it being backed up with Look Out Sunshine! This was the second single released and did not achieve mainstream success, however in my opinion is the best song on the album by far. It’s a more personal song than most of the others but contains nothing instantly memorable at first listen yet once heard properly it really sticks in your mind. I feel there are too many bands around these days that could not pull off performing a song like this due to the fact that they make depressing music to match the depressing lyrics, but in this case the depressing lyrics are put together with uplifting music and that creates a nice balance to the song making it a real highlight on the album and on stage.

The first single they released from the album was Mistress Mabel and whilst not being the best this album has to offer it was always going to be a sure fire hit. Extremely catchy, doesn’t need thinking about and decent lyrics to match it brings to use effects in the background along with a piano which surprisingly works very well as it’s not over done and is overall a good experiment which shows the band are moving on from the first album. This song is excellent live as it is possible their signature tune off this album and also because of the performance itself. They bring out many huge glitter balls and put together with lava lamps and a psychedelic background it creates a weird and wonderful atmosphere while the song is being performed.

This is slightly let down however by the following track Jesus Stole My Baby which is a lot slower than the more upbeat Mistress Mabel. This has a very simple guitar riff, basic lyrics and the vocals seem to drag out a bit whereas normally they are as good as any modern band around and can rarely be faulted. I think this is the wrong type of song for the Fratellis and they should concentrate on writing songs with upbeat catchy riffs which they have already proved to be good at. What lets this song down is that you can’t help thinking, “this is ok but it’s nothing special” and this is very similar to a few songs on the album. Also for some unknown reason a harmonica is bought in towards the end. No… I have no idea why either.

Another song that lets the album down is Stragglers Moon. Again it is a slow song in comparison the rest of their work and it doesn’t quite fit in with the album. As a song goes and is a bit all over the place and it’s almost as if it can’t decide what to do with itself. For example it starts off as an acoustic song but then they half make an attempt at developing rolling electric guitars in to the equation that don’t seem to match the acoustic work and it all seems like one long, slow mash up. It’s not the best work they have done by far purely because I couldn’t understand what the Fratellis want it to be and also it does seem to drag on a bit.

In contrast to this there is a slower track on the album which for me is one of the best tracks and that is the final song Milk And Honey. This is a different, slow piano tune and it brings an end to a very up and down album. This track is very unlike The Fratellis but they do it really well and almost to prove the faith in this song they ended with it live. It is one of those songs where you can just imagine the audience getting their lighters out, a sad song yet not depressing it brings in crashing drums half way through and then takes it up a gear with a quicker rhythm, pounding drum beat and screeching guitars all fused together which then fade away to leave the slow, original piano tune. An exceedingly good end to the album it is very well done and definitely a highlight.

High Points – A fair few to offer in this album but the main one’s being Look Out Sunshine, Milk And Honey, Shameless and also track nine called Tell Me A Lie which is arguably the most edgy track on the album and is quite refreshing as it comes after two previous average tracks, namely Babydoll and Jesus Stole My Baby. The track is slightly disjointed but when you listen to the lyrics, the fact that there are two different tunes to the song makes sense as it’s almost sung from two people’s point of view and the two different tunes are the two different opinions which is done well and is very clever.

Low Points – Quite a lot of big one’s on this album but mostly they all come in the two tracks previously mentioned Stragglers Moon and Jesus Stole My Baby they just don’t suit The Fratellis rough and ragged style. These guys can write some brilliantly catchy tunes like Chelsea Dagger so I don’t see why they would write this type of song when it is clear what they are best at. Another down side is that there are a few tracks on this album which are just plain average and do not stand out as particularly good or bad for example the opening track My Friend John, Acid Jazz Singer, Lupe Brown and their most recent single A Heady Tale. There is nothing wrong with these tracks and they are good songs in general but none of them make you really sit up and listen, on the other hand when they are performed live they become more than just average. I guess that’s what makes live music so brilliant.

Overall this is a well done feel good album but there is too much about it that is just average. The high points are brilliant but apart from that there is not a lot to go on and it does slightly let the album down, however saying that there is not a lot to fault about it. My advice is to get out and see this band live because they are fantastic and just take the album for what it is, an easy listening, and catchy record. It’s nothing spectacular but a solid album all the same.

Liam Spencer

Guitar Break Rating:

Visit the official site of The Fratellis:
www.TheFratellis.com