As band names go, Frankie Rose and The Outs was one that seemed like a prime candidate for vinyl and it was with no small amount of anticipatory trepidation that the needle was lowered into the groove. Would this be a musical voyage of discovery or another retread of glories long since past?
In sonic terms, all that reverb, booming drums and female harmonies drifting like sugar coated storm clouds will bring forth memories of the epic productions of Shadow Morton or (who’s the daddy now, Phil?) Spector and also comparisons with more modern girl on a garage rock rampage groups like Girls At Dawn. The interesting thing here, however, is the execution. Most of Frankie Rose And The Out’s contemporaries are so determinedly lo-fi that they practically guarantee their own niche appeal while there is a lot more polish – and I would assume money – to be found on this album.
It is probably just cynicism on my part but there seems to be a plan behind it all. Many of the songs have the mark of familiarity and not just of the classic girl group sound either. I could hear The Challengers in the guitars “Don’t Tred”, the ghost of the Ronettes haunting the drums in “Save Me” and a resurrection of Nirvana in “Candy”. One might even suggest that this is just the kind of approach that gets you on to a film soundtrack. Different but similar, if you like, which is also, of course, the sure sign of the glorious precision of a woman on a mission.
However, despite my best efforts to find fault with this album, I have to admit that I enjoyed listening to it a lot and, even though I think that there is better to come from this band, there is more than enough here to merit a recommendation.
As the vinyl came with a CD, it was an ideal opportunity to compare sound quality. There wasn’t much in it to tell the truth. The CD did better at the high frequencies and the vinyl took the honours at the low frequencies leading me to think that they were cut off the same master.