The Fratellis - Costello Music

Genre rock Publisher Cherrytree/Interscope External Links Official The Fratellis Website Official Cherry Tree Website

Every since the significant icing-down of the white-hot Arctic Monkeys (who have already lost their original bass player to "tour exhaustion," AKA exTREME drug use), America has been crowing for the newest, most exciting thing Western Europe can harvest from their rolling green country hills. Right on cue, we're treated to the poppy, yet rollicking-rough tunes of The Fratellis. And they are a goddamn exciting group. In the style of the aforementioned Monkeys, and The Libertines, The Fratellis jam and shout like it's a non-stop youth party. Slippin' on beer-soaked floors, straight outta Glasgow, Scotland, they have a great feel, fun and jumpy, slightly polished with production dough, but raucous and just a little angry.

They absolutely Bullet-Train through "Cuntry Boys and City Girls" alternating between a sweet, off-kilter electric guitar riff and a fast, shredding pop-punk style. They pack as many words as they can into a measure, forcing you to run and punch along to their style. Sadly, this song only appears on the UK version, an upgrade I'd highly recommend. "Flathead" pulls you into a sweaty dance hall with a perfect move. Starting a song quick, semi-quiet, fast-pacing around the room like a hungry, jungle cat. There's a sudden quick stop, about one-fifth of a beat of silence before they Cannon-blast you into the full length version of the song. These kids seem to have an intrinsic sense of how to work crowd energy. Their live shows should be epic. Accordingly, May 09th, at the San Francisco Fillmore is scored onto my calendar with triple-thick Sharpie. Which simply means it's been written directly onto my wall. They can even play songs with a softer touch. Another UK selection, "Ole Black 'N' Blue Eyes," follows the cue of the Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes" and the Stone's "Far Away Eyes" by gazing into a lady's face and seeing her worn-out troubles. This song is far more upbeat than its classic predecessors, with a sing-song tone, but the message is essentially the same. It's sung from an immature viewpoint to be sure. The fellows deal with an unwanted crush in a semi-polite way, even if they poke fun at the poor girl's misfortunes. But in doing so, they remark on the emotionally ragged lives some people can have. They top it off with a fantastic catchy guitar/hum-singing melody to finish off the song and album.

"Chelsea Dagger" is the album's choicest cut and most representative of the band's sound. Bursting with shoulder-shaking, beer-hall war-whooops that just BEG you to call along, this song needs to be played while running roughshod through the streets, swiftly dodging the slow, old folks, jumping curbs, kick-denting rubbish bins. Singing along with the chorus of mad, young lust is a seriously fun moment. "Chelsea Chelsea I believe / That when your dancing slowly sucking your sleeve / The boys get lonely after you leave / It's one for the Dagger and another for the one you believe." If you can't get caught up in the madhouse delirium found on this song, you might as well find something less active. Yes, I know, there ain't no significant message to an album like this, but there IS an intrinsic joy and power that doesn't need self-critical definition. It's simply great, a true party of youth. Chasin' tail, Playing music fast and hard, Getting your slant on, these are themes that DO NOT CARE about their inherent meaning, intellectual heft, or their classic perpetuation throughout the ages. Just enjoy the fun and blast this album.