Artist: The Fratellis
Album: Costello Music
Label: Cherry Tree
year: 2006
Reviewed by: Woodstock Slim
So what the hell is this, then? Glasgow Rock? That Scottish sound is unmistakable, I thought I might just get totally into this. It smacks of pure enthusiasm and magic, from the gut you know. They make their homies "The View" look like a teeny bopper shame band, shame. I loved The View and was glad to hear Scottish bands in my top 20 again. I really don't know what to say about the music on this record. "Costello Music" is a misleading tittle and the bands name is even more misleading. It is impossible to tell what the hell kind of music might lurk between the sheets of this record. Hell, I don't even know where to start 'cept to ignorantly say the whole album sounds like some or other compound ingredient of Come on Eileen by the Dexy's Midnight Runner's magic potion...now shoot me.
The lyrics are little stories of hanging around bars and feeling up girls and falling in love and telling your best friend secrets about the girls you have the hots for. It's playful, real and from around the neighborhood, funny and you'll play it over and over so that you can sing along to all the pretty choruses. The lyrics come from the sixties and seeing as they're a bit young it was composed with the same innocence and abandon, whimsical if you may. Fratellis smokes your mind. As a lover of three piece bands, coming from one myself, I love the range they display.
Ghaaa ghaaaa... "Vince the lovable stoner" pulls the fanny of "Paradise City" by Guns 'n Roses, it's sweet. There is not a songs on this album that does not totally delight me, their sooo well written and sweet. I find it offensive that all the blogs and web pages related to latest releases say that if you listen to: The Kooks, Razorlight, Kaizer chiefs, Dirty pretty things, The View and Kasabian, you will like this. I don't know about that. This band is unique and although the list above are all good bands... the only thing that sets Fratellis apart from all of them is that Fratellis has True Raw Talent. All the other bands write hits, or seeks pop vogue or whatever, Fratellis just is. You can't fake real talent, brilliant composition and the soul.
In a recent interview in The Sun newspaper, The Fratellis confirmed that their name is taken from bassist Barry, whose original surname is Fratelli; the other members of the band simply adopted that pseudonym. 'Fratelli' also means brothers in Italian. They've been described as the missing link between T. Rex and The Libertines.
