Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of July 3rd-9th, 2016:
Frankie Teardrop - Hell Yep
01. Not A Love Song
02. Stay Dumb
03. It Flipped
04. Get It (Kelly)
05. Diet
06. Back To It
07. Convertible/Cig Death
08. Beauty Station
09. My Boys
10. Pissin' In The City
11. D.E.F.L.
12. Waiting For You
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| (Frankie Teardrop by Niya DeLa Pena) |
Well, folks, welcome to one of the more morose entries in my Album Of The Week column. I'm sad to say that, this week, I'll be writing up Frankie Teardrop's final album. We all knew this day would come, of course, but not in July of 2016.
For those of you who've been following along with the blog & podcast, you likely know that MinneSarah & I have been huge supporters of Frankie Teardrop for a long time now. I've played their songs five times on the show and this week's marks the third time one of their records has appeared in AOTW. Hell, it was just two episodes ago that I was waxing nostalgic about their ten-minute performance of "Free Fallin'" at 10K Sounds Festial a couple years ago.
However, it all started rather inauspiciously. Here's what I wrote about Frankie Teardrop's song "Lines" back in March of 2014:
"I spent a week with Tough Guy a while back. It's a fine, basically enjoyable throwback sort of record. However, I've yet to see Frankie Teardrop live, which is evidently necessary to totally buy into what Frankie Teardrop's selling.
"Lines" is a perfectly serviceable, straight ahead rocker. That, however, is pretty much it. There's no great chorus to boost the song up, no crazy guitar solos, nothing particularly memorable. It just trucks along for a minute & forty seconds and then leaves. Even Frankie's lyrics about abusing substances and pushing things too far ring a little hollow when delivered in such a workmanlike manner. I don't know if it was MPR or the band that decided to push "Lines," but I know Frankie Teardrop can do better. Try giving "New Beverage" or "Killed A Man" a listen for a more interesting take on just what Frankie Teardrop is capable of doing."
Damn. That's pretty cold. Who would have thought that this band would go on to be one of the flagship bands of the blog?
I'd feel bad about that review, but Frankie Teardrop spent the next two years going out and doing exactly what I was hoping they'd do. Beginning with the Raiders EP they went from "serviceable" to a band that trafficked almost exclusively in crazy guitar solos and great choruses. It was thrilling to watch a band find their sound so quickly & so precisely.
Which brings us Hell Yep, their first and last full-length. The album opens with "Not A Love Song," which boils the Frankie Teardrop experience down to its essence. "This is not a love song, my heart just exploded..." sings Frankie Teardrop mastermind Jordan Bleau, and it's a quintessential FT couplet. They care too much, they don't care at all, here comes the hook, here comes the guitar. One song into the album and we've already got a classic on our hands.
The second track on the album, however, is the track that best explains how we got here. At 3:47 "Stay Dumb" is the longest song on the album by over a minute and with good reason. It's both mission statement and eulogy. It shows how the band has grown (check out the acoustic guitar/feedback/rolling drums intro) from delightfully simple garage rock band to power-pop geniuses.
"I don't wanna stay dumb..." Bleau sings in the chorus, detaching the line from anger or angst and weighting it to a melody that underlines his point. You see, here's the dirty little secret about Frankie Teardrop - they were never dumb. Sure, they may have been playing simple to make the point that there should always be a home for good old fashioned rock n roll music, but that "dumb rock" was never their calling. Bleau's guitar work in the jangling indie-pop band Gloss showed exactly what kind of talent he had. As half of the manpower/brainpower behind No Problem Records, he & Alex Uhrich have shown time & again that the last thing they want to do is release "dumb" rock music. "There's got to be more to life..." Bleau sings in the bridge, "I don't believe the hype..."
What makes the rest of the Hell Yep so much damn fun are the moments when the band shows just how smart they can be (without sacrificing any of the hooks). Listen to the keyboards that fill out "Get It (Kelly)," the drum machine intro at the beginning of "Diet" or my favorite, the absolute double pixie stick rush of the lead guitar & pre-chorus keyboards on "Waiting For You." Add up all those little flourishes and you'll realize that Frankie Teardrop has made one of the smartest "dumb" record you've ever heard.
At 12 songs in 22 minutes, Jordan Bleau & the boys have trimmed every ounce of fat from their sound and delivered a perfect debut LP. Everything about the band that worked in the past has been amplified while everything clumsy has been jettisoned. The whole thing's been given a pop sheen that makes it completely accessible for new fans, while still having all the personality that'll keep older fans coming back.
Twist those words a little bit, and you can see why Hell Yep also makes for a perfect ending point for Frankie Teardrop. They've pushed their sound as it can be pushed. All those little keyboard washes and acoustic intros I've been fawning over are clearly the work of a man who wants to push his sound further but feels he needs a clean break & a fresh slate to do so. To put it briefly, it's the kind of final statement that leaves you wanting more. And those are always the best kind.
I don't know what happens next for Jordan Bleau, but Frankie Teardrop made for quite an opening act. Boys, it was a hell of a run. Can't wait to see what comes next.
If you'd like to download Hell Yep or any of the other Frankie Teardrop releases, head over to their Bandcamp page.
For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on his Mixcloud page. Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.
