The title of Frank Turner’s new EP seems quite relevant considering that the man used to front a hardcore punk band, Million Dead, before he embarked upon a solo career as a folk artist. Even more relevant are the lyrics on the opening track, ‘I Still Believe’ — “Who’d have thought, that after all, something as simple as rock and roll could save us all?” — in relation to Mr. Turner’s own uplifting and wonderfully-honest music, which has brought joy to many listeners the world over.
Rock & Roll is an in-between project, which has recently been released just over a year after his last LP, Poetry Of The Deed, and a few months before the new album drops in early 2011. According to the Winchester-based singer-songwriter, himself, only the aforementioned track out of the five that are listed here will appear on his next record.
Considering Frank’s extensive tour schedule (which is rapidly approaching one-thousand live shows in nearly six-and-a-half years), it’s pretty remarkable that he’s found the time to put this taster together. His awesome LPs aside, also, the good news is this isn’t just a filler record, as it basically represents the continuing reassurance of a man who just really loves making music.
After the anthemic first number, ‘Pass It Along’ is a mellower track that builds in tempo and tells the tale of singer-songwriters’ experiences on tour. Its lyrical content is similar to that of ‘The Road’, but feels much more heartfelt in that it pays tribute to musical influences (Bob Dylan in particular) and depicts how artists are interconnected, spiritually, through the art form.
Things go even more mellow on ‘Rock & Roll Romance’ (but that’s by no means a criticism), a bittersweet tale that talks about love in-between reality and fairytale. ‘To Absent Friends’ is easily the thrasiest of the five songs; a passionate, pop-tinged sing-along aimed at missing close friends, which relates back to ‘Pass It Along’. Then things are rounded off nicely with ‘The Next Round’, a story of a lonely drunkard that is deliberately self-sympathetic and melodramatic, accompanied at first by a delicate beat and then a rousing conclusion.
It’s hard to pick a favourite out of the five songs, as Frank’s songwriting is so consistently meaningful and relevant throughout. While he and his band have become known for producing the more “poppy” tunes, like “I Still Believe”, to really get the crowds going, it’s great to hear, also, that his desire to still make more personal, stripped-down affairs involving just him and his guitar aren’t going amiss here.
