Fratelli Funk
'Yah, I know the Frat Boys hate the Fratellis on the basis of politics. Not too helpful. Most of the best artists of our (probably any) generation endorse sucky politics.
The thing is, the first Fratelli album was freaking awesome! It was all punky yet dancy and introspective, yet only to the extent it made it even better. It was pretty much the perfect album for its genre and its age. Infectious. A bevy of hit singles to choose from. Hitting the right notes for the time.
Then comes the latest. And... what the heck happened?!
All at once there's nothing threatening. Nothing challenging. Nothing interesting. It's all so safe... so formulized... And the weird thing is the formulas don't seem to follow the previous album at all. They're some kind of bland "this should be more accessible" formula only a soulless studio drone might have preferred. Makes the whole thing tedious. Seriously.
I listened to the Fratelli's initial offering so often I almost wore out my headphones. I'm having a hard time thinking why I would subject myself to a listening of their next album again without payment.
Rating of the Fratellis first album: "Costello Music": 5 out of 5.
Rating of the Fratellis second album: "Here We Stand": 2 out of 5 stars.
I know it has happened before. But nothing is so fresh in my mind as this complete fall from GOOD.
The thing is, the first Fratelli album was freaking awesome! It was all punky yet dancy and introspective, yet only to the extent it made it even better. It was pretty much the perfect album for its genre and its age. Infectious. A bevy of hit singles to choose from. Hitting the right notes for the time.
Then comes the latest. And... what the heck happened?!
All at once there's nothing threatening. Nothing challenging. Nothing interesting. It's all so safe... so formulized... And the weird thing is the formulas don't seem to follow the previous album at all. They're some kind of bland "this should be more accessible" formula only a soulless studio drone might have preferred. Makes the whole thing tedious. Seriously.
I listened to the Fratelli's initial offering so often I almost wore out my headphones. I'm having a hard time thinking why I would subject myself to a listening of their next album again without payment.
Rating of the Fratellis first album: "Costello Music": 5 out of 5.
Rating of the Fratellis second album: "Here We Stand": 2 out of 5 stars.
I know it has happened before. But nothing is so fresh in my mind as this complete fall from GOOD.
Posted by Doug Williams on
Wednesday July 23, 2008 at 2:22am
