Dammit, why does the webmaster do this to me?  Once again he has sent me music from someone who I know the square root of two thirds of f**k’all about. 

Frank Turner is the ex “Million Dead” frontman and “Vital Signs”, which is to be released on 25^th Dec, is to be his brand new single which precedes the release of his eagerly awaited solo album “Sleep Is For The Week” which is due to be released on 15^th Jan 2007.  

I will admit to being a bit amused and bewildered as to why anyone would release a single on Xmas day, I mean, its not as if HMV will be opening their door especially now is it!  But, when I read through the blurb, it seems you can send an email to Santa at santa@frank-turner.com and Santa will make sure that he delivers a copy of the single straight to your mailbox on Christmas morning, ready for you to download.  What a neat idea! 

I was expecting this to be another thrash/rock style releases purely on the basis of the title of track 2 on the CD – namely “Heartless Bastard Motherf****r”, but I was to be pleasantly surprised.  Franks’ music is a mix of anti-establishment punk rock lyrics set to a musical style reminiscent of the folk/country genre.  Another of those strange mixes that initially goes under the heading of “What the F**k”? but ends up leaving you totally understanding the messages he is trying to get across.  His music isn’t just a mix of lyrics aimed at creating a hit record, they are very much themed and each song has a story to tell.  “Vital Signs”, for example, is an autobiographical tale of living life on the road and living life in the present, and his storytelling through song is very reminiscent of Billy Bragg. 

I don’t think that this is a release that will be classed as an easy listen, to really appreciate what Frank is doing you will need to give the songs your full attention, and as such I feel that it is only going to appeal to Frank’s current fans and specific alternative folk/country genre junkies.  Outside of those I feel Frank will be hard pressed to make a mark because it’s not ground breaking stuff and I don’t think it will be getting any real airplay publicity, apart from certain specialist radio shows. 

Not really my scene and not really a style I would go out of my way to listen too; but it is fun, musically very adept, and without a shadow of doubt fantastic song-writing. I would get the album purely on the basis of this single, just to see if the other songs are of the same high quality, but I couldn’t guarantee how long I would listen to the whole album.

Let us know your views on 'Vital Signs'

Track List

Vital Signs
Heartless Bastard Motherf**cker