Frank Turner - Sleep Is For The Week (Xtra Mile)
4/5
By: Jacob Dunkley
So the Million Dead front man has shaken off the screams in favour of English folk music, and what immediately stands out in this beautiful collection of songs is the fact Frank sounds completely, unavoidably English - songs here are utterly devoid of the American whine that hounds most other English singer songwriters of his ilk. And it's not that he's trying anything really different either - but by presenting something that contains both his heart and his soul, he's made sure the transition to respectable, mature artist has paid off.
'Vital Signs' will likely be the track to really grab you on first listen (appropriate that it was chosen as the first single, then...), a track that sets the scene for a collection of songs on topics far more varied and astutely written about than those attempted by your average emo-tagged singer songwriter (anyone hear that Secret Show record? Exactly...). Comparisons can be drawn with contemporaries such as Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. and also past masters all the way back to Billy Bragg; not so much in the tone of the voice but the music that they aim towards and succeed at nailing, music which has its roots in English folk and not American culture.
Song's like 'Once We Were Anarchists' highlight the internal struggle of growing older and facing the fact that the beliefs we hold tend not to change things however much we want them to. Ending with a live version of 'Ballad Of Me And My Friends' is the perfect way to close the record as lyrically and musically it shows just how genuine Frank Turner is whilst also defining his craft. 'Sleep Is For The Week' is a wonderful collection of songs and should be a wake up call to so many other singer songwriters. Truly, this is how it should be done.
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