Well this is a pleasant surprise! My previous relationship with The Fratellis is mixed to say the least. On the one hand, their jaunty debut Costello Music was the soundtrack to my honeymoon back in 2006. No, not in a saucy seaside postcard sense, what’s the matter with you? Get your minds out of the gutter, this is a family website. My honeymoon was spent lazily staring into the calm, rippling waters of St Lucia, a tropical smoothie in one hand, a fish barbecue in the other and the brothers Fratelli crashing into both ears simultaneously. It was an immaculate and perfect fusion of Glaswegian Americana with the colour of Caribbean life. Or perhaps I was still on a high from my wedding.
Of course, it couldn’t last (The Fratellis trajectory, not my marriage…that’s fine thank you) and the ‘disappointing’ second album was soon followed by recriminations, a break-up, a reconciliation and finally the ‘difficult to listen to’ third album. In truth, I had given up on the lads, despite seeing them playing a stormer of a low key set three years ago which begged the question “where did it all go wrong?”. The truth, as always in any relationship, is that it’s me and not them.
So, I approached their latest offering ‘Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied‘ with some disdain I have to confess. Life is too short to continually trade off past glories and for my money, The Fratellis weren’t so much drinking in the last chance saloon as having been forcibly ejected from the establishment for drunkenly toppling over the oversized game of Jenga. Anyway, you get my drift, right? My guess is that I’m not alone in this view, am I? Well, pile up the Jenga bricks again folks, we might be wrong.
Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied isn’t Costello Music, let me make that clear from the start. This is no hyper-frenetic race through tales of loners, stoners and miscreant activities in Glaswegian backstreets. No, this is the grown up version of the Fratellis, a slower, reflective and dare I say mellower version of their former selves. If that sounds abhorrent, don’t panic. Not yet anyway.
The album opens in familiar Fratellis vein – ‘Me and the Devil‘ is a good old singalong-a-footstomper but almost immediately the mood is swapped for something far more melancholy. ‘Imposters (Little By Little)‘ is the first indication that the band have now set their sights on copying second rate Americana rather than forging anything new and original themselves, not that it’s a crime in itself. The track could have been written by any half-assed Louisiana bar act.
So it continues, ‘Getting Surreal‘ and ‘Too Much Wine‘ could both be apologetic B-sides from the likes of Counting Crows or Jason and The Scorchers whereas ‘Dogtown‘ is an attempt to be, well how do I put this, funky. Yes funky and complete with a brass section. ‘Thief‘ on the other hand travels further North to Detroit for its influences. Like I said, perhaps it’s me rather than them and the album is just a musical travelogue around the United States. In fact, I’m onto something here as the album closes with ‘Moonshine‘ which incidentally is what they must have consuming at the time of recording, it’s pretty woeful.
If you really want an indication of The Fratellis metamorphosis since 2006 then ‘Slow‘ provides the evidence. A slow ballad, devoid of humour, hooks and a clear message from a man with a pained and troubled heart. As Jon Fratelli croons “Sometimes it takes all your heart just to breathe” you wonder quite how much he was paying attention in Biology class but the sentiment is obvious. The track could be at home in a Waterboys set and perhaps is a pointer to where The Fratellis are veering to in the future.
Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied is never going to be regarded as a modern day classic album. Actually, I doubt it will be remembered as an average one either. It is unlikely to win them an army of new fans nor will it persuade many of their old fanatics back into the fold, which is disappointing because the album is a perfectly serviceable fourth album from a band who I assumed to be a burned out shell of an act. But speaking as someone for whom The Fratellis will always have an important resonance, then this album will suffice perfectly if you find yourself stuck on the A47.
Like I said at the beginning, what a pleasant surprise. Now when do we get the new Zutons album?
[Rating:2.5]
