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Review: Frankie & The Heartstrings - I Still Follow You [Single]

Pop Sex Ltd // "a classy hook laden affair"

by Lauren, October 22nd, 2012 and has been Read 703 times.
Last Edited by: Chris MUG5 Maguire October 27th, 2012.

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Following the release of their Bernard Butler produced single ‘Everybody Looks Better (In The Right Light)’ Sunderland’s Frankie & The Heartstrings have been working on an album with the Suede man. The first track from their album sessions with Butler is ‘I Still Follow You’ and you can download it for free from their website if you like its shtick.

This first track suggests a slightly more mature and down-tempo direction for the lads’ new material which is coming to you once again from their own Pop Sex label. With these kind of old school, solid, down to earth melodies you could be forgiven for thinking that Frankie and co have been around for decades, but it’s a shock to realise that Hunger only came out last year.

Like their debut record ‘I Still Follow You’ is a classy hook laden affair that you could just as easily croon along to as you could showcase your jive skills (if you can slow jive that is). A light synth backdrop gives a melancholy disco tint to their clean guitar pop which with Butler’s production is cleaner and more minimal than ever.

If you were a fan of the big choruses and bouncy exuberance of the Hunger years then you could find this a little drab, you’d be wrong, but you know it’s been known to happen. It’s still got that iridescent quality, it’s just not as immediate before instead going for texture and backseat charisma as opposed to the bashful nature of their earlier work. Lyrically it could border on a little creepy as Frankie spins us a tale about the object of his affections: “I’ll take the easy route to get me out, you’ll make it hard for me without a doubt, we make no sense, but I’ll still follow you.” Yes, it’s not all sunshine and roses, but it’s a refined polished piece of song writing that hints at some bold new directions for one of the boldest bands of last year.