Once upon a not-so-very-long-ago 3 friends from Cork decided to form a musical band. Their collective love of melody and god-given gift for a hook saw riches and acclaim bestowed on them from far and wide and they lived happily ever after safe in the knowledge that hard work, wonderful songs and honest talent would always win the day ………… well, it’s a nice thought isn’t it!!
Cork Rocks 1991
The Evening Echo put on a concert at Sir Henry’s in Cork “Cork Rocks 1991” bands that played over the weekend were I.R.S., Bird, The Precious Stones, A Touch Of Oliver, The Chelsea Drugstore, Therapy, LIR, The Wishing Stones, Azure Days, Toasted Heretic, The Frank & Walters, Brilliant Trees, The Cranberries. The whole thing was recorded on a 24 track tape and later broadcast on the Dave Fanning Show. Over 40 record company executive’s from America, UK & Europe were expected.
‘Glass’ is the fourth album from The Frank and Walters and manages to be their best offering to date – and that’s no mean feat considering the quality of their previous outings. The glorious melodies and pure pop sensibilities are still intact but add to that some dancier leanings, a little smattering of world-weariness and still more hooks to die for and you’ll get the drift that this is quite a special album indeed.
From the wide-eyed optimism and drive of forthcoming single ‘Underground’ to the understated majesty of ‘New York’ there’s a depth and vision to ‘Glass’ that shows a group at the height of their creative powers. Production duties are handled by Rob Kirwan and Flood whose experience working with luminaries such as U2 and Depeche Mode is put to good use and adds an edgier analogue sense of groove to the proceedings.
For those not already in the know (shame on you – no really, shame on you!) The Frank and Walters got together in 1990 and for the past decade have written some of the best pop songs you’re likely to hear … that’s pop in the proper sense not the devalued bubblegum churned out in the name of pop these days.
In 1991 their first 3 releases EP1, EP2 and EP3 on fledgling label Setanta were all made Single of The Week in either NME or Melody Maker. Things didn’t stop there either, debut album ‘Trains Boats and Planes’ went top 10 and on the consequent tours the Franks were supported by both Radiohead and Suede. One other interesting little fact for the trivia buffs is that their guitar roadie on said tour was a certain Mr Noel Gallagher (who in an recent Irish Mirror article revealed that, were it not for The Frank and Walters he would still been working on a building site and would therefore not have formed Oasis!). The Frank and Walters would like to take this opportunity to publicly apologise!
It’s been a long, strange, beautiful journey for The Franks, frequently flirting with the charts on this continent and others. Comment on their last album ‘Beauty Becomes More Than Life’ ranged from the MM calling it “magnificent” to NME declaring it “a lost classic of the 21st Century”. Along the way there have been contributions from Kevin Shields (the My Bloody Valentine man remixing ‘Simple Times’) and the High Llamas’ Sean O’Hagan (who remixes tracks for the new single). There’ve been sojourns in New York, London and Berlin (the band spent March of this year sampling the many dark delights Berlin has to offer and incorporating the teutonic vibe into the demos they made there) – hell, there’s even an all-girl Japanese Franks tribute band!
Some unscrupulous people even suggest that the guys change their name to evade the lazy preconceptions of those who still have them down as some kind of novelty band (people can be SO lame!!). To which, I’m happy to say, the band said ‘change your own name’!!
Ladies and gentlemen – kindly give it up for The Frank and Walters.