Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Standing Tall, 9 Jun 2008
It's been a good few weeks for British music with excellent releases from The Pigeon Detectives and The Zutons - can the Fratellis follow suit with their successor to Costello Music?
I heard their recent set on Jools Holland and pretty much loved every new track they performed. This is quite unusual for me because most albums really have to grow on me, but this was instant - so as you can imagine, I had pretty high hopes for this sophomore release.
The three opening tracks are absolutely stonking summer songs, and if A Heady Tale isn't released as a single then I'll eat my metaphorical hat. Look Out Sunshine sounds very 90s, very much like something the Supernaturals would create. Stragglers Moon is probably my least favourite track - luckily the fantastic Mistress Mabel is but a skip-button away. If you've not caught the single yet, do so!
The back straight isn't quite as fine as the first 6 tracks, but still very good nonetheless. Tell Me A Lie is a nice change in style, and sounds heavily influenced by The White Stripes, whilst Babydoll, Acid Jazz Singer & Lupe Brown are all annoyingly catchy tracks that you'll be singing along to in the car for weeks.
Overall, it's probably better than their debut album, the lyrics themselves certainly are. If the Fratellis continue to mature like this, things bode extremely well for album number three - hopefully it'll only be a year away.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Why change a winning formula?, 27 Jun 2008
With 'Costello Music', The Fratellis gave us an album packed full of fast-paced, sing-a-long indie songs with a slightly hard edge and they've done exactly the same with 'Here We Stand', a high quality collection of instantly likable tunes. 'Costello Music' was always going to be a difficult album to top and, although 'Here We Stand' hasn't bettered their debut, it is certainly able to sit comfortably next to it, like a cheeky little brother.
This album is jam packed full of hard-edged riffs, witty lyrics and good-natured, big choruses. 'My Friend John', 'A Heady Tale' and 'Shameless' are three very catchy, brilliant songs and a great way to start the album; the first track featuring a guitar riff the Arctic Monkeys would be proud of, the second opening with a jaunty piano line - a real knees-up tune, while the last of the opening trio, 'Shameless', continues the theme of upbeat, immediately enjoyable songs.
'Look Out Sunshine!', the forthcoming single, is the 'Whistle For The Choir' of the album and if it isn't a huge summer hit (it is released in August), I would be extremely surprised. 'Straggler's Moon' is a little darker and slightly less immediate, but still a very good song with a quirky, snappy chorus, reminding me a little of Supergrass. The first single, 'Mistress Mabel', is a great tune and is up there with the quality of singles from their debut album.
Other highlights on the album include the charming, foot-tapping tunes 'Babydoll' and 'Acid Jazz Singer', the slow, heavy rock/breakneck-speed blues contrast of 'Tell Me A Lie' (possibly the heaviest thing they have done to date), 'Lupe Brown', which kicks-off with a celtic-like riff and the other two tracks on the album aren't half-bad either (the last track on the album 'Milk And Money' is especially interesting), giving the listener a good listening experience from the start to the very finish.
All-in-all, this is a very pleasing album and a worthy follow-up to their excellent debut. Perhaps it doesn't quite scale the heights of the very best moments of 'Costello Music', but it really isn't far behind. I would wager that people who enjoyed the first album would be much more likely to enjoy this release than not. A quality second album from the Glaswegians.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!, 21 Aug 2008
I really loved the first Fratellis album and this one is even better!
There's a lot more variety in this one, experimenting with many different styles, ending up with one of the best albums so far of 2008.
The songs perhaps aren't as catchy or memorable as the likes of "Chelsea Dagger" but the quality is definitely higher.
Well recommended for an easy listen that can also be blasted out for some mad, jump around, shouty tunes.
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