[img]http://static.bbc.co.uk/music/images/reviews/222x222/2qb6.jpg[/img]
[color=Red]Hunger [2011] Pop Sex Ltd / POPSEX40CD[/color]
[img]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p180/SonAfterDark/tracklistlatest

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1 Photograph 
2 Ungrateful 
3 Hunger 
4 Possibilities 
5 Fragile 
6 Tender 
7 That Postcard 
8 It's Obvious 
9 Want You Back 
10 Don't Look Surprised


The English north-east isn’t short of a great band or two. The Futureheads 

and Field Music might have flown the flag the highest, attracting adoring 

glances from far-away fans, but just beneath the surface acts like This Ain't 

Vegas have drawn favourable coverage, and splinter (super) group The 

Week That Was delivered one of the best albums of 2008. Frankie & The 

Heartstrings therefore have some pretty fertile soil to call home, hailing from 

Sunderland (and, during their existence, sharing DNA with local legends 

Kenickie) – but their modus operandi is fairly far removed from anything 

previously proffered by their fellow townsfolk.

This five-piece might be worthy of here-and-now buzz, expected by many to 

feature on the BBC’s Sound of 2011 list (they didn’t, though it shouldn’t 

harm their chances of mainstream recognition), but their sound harks back 

to another era of indie-pop. Indeed, they rewind the compositional clocks a 

whole generation, with whispers of Orange Juice and Dexys Midnight 

Runners in the band’s musical make-up. And there’s the look, too. No 

getting around it: Frankie & The Heartstrings aren’t your usual cool kids on 

the blogosphere block, threads and haircuts bearing distinct traces of the 

1950s – front-fellow Frankie Francis (what a name there, chap) sporting a 

marvellous James Dean quiff. It all serves to set the group apart from the 

seasonal slew of first-quarter contenders.

By standing out so prominently, Frankie et al will inevitably take their share 

of knocks. Accusations of style over substance, perhaps, from quarters 

unwilling to give debut album 'Hunger' the time it deserves. Well, let them 

have their slings and their arrows – it means that these 10 ten tracks will be 

all the more adored by those who’ve a space in their hearts for mellifluous 

music that isn’t trying to be big nor clever. By doing things their own way, 

releasing a series of limited-run goodies via their own Pop Sex label, this 

band has steadily built a community committed to their cutesy, carefree 

anthems from a bygone pop period. And loyalty has been rewarded, as the 

snappy riffs and taut percussion, with the mainman’s purring baritone, 

combine to great effect.

At its best, tracks ingrain themselves immediately – the "whoa-whoa" joy of 

"That Postcard", the album's brilliant celebration of standing up for one’s 

friends and ideals, and the meandering guitar-work underpinning vocals on 

"Tender" that climb away to dizzy heights. Even when tracks pass without too 

much of an impression left, the listener is never without a smile on their face 

– there’s simply that much fun on show. Unless, of course, they’re not 

prepared to allow a little northern charm to brighten their day. More fool, 

them.

cd ripped by dBpoweramp

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[url]http://dickthespic.org/2011/03/18/frankie-the-heartstrings/[/url]