Album Review
Positive Songs For
Negative People (Deluxe Edition) by Frank Turner – Released Friday 7th
August 2015
Since releasing his first album Sleep Is For The Week in 2007 Frank Turner has released five studio
and three Best Ofs albums. Frank’s mixture of punk, folk and rock on topics
including: politics, love, death, war, and social injustice has taken audiences
by storm worldwide.
As the title of his sixth album suggests the songs take
negative influences and transform them into positive outlooks. Five of the
tracks clock in at three minutes or less; like life itself they rush by in a
blink of an eye. Get Better speaks
about still having time to fix past wrongs. The
Next Storm is an upbeat song about overcoming troubles; everyone goes
through bad times but that it is important to face them head-on. The Opening Act Of Spring is an
irresistible ditty of asking for forgiveness after hurting someone you love,
surrounded by metaphors of nature and awakening. Mittens laments unrequited love: “…we used it fit like mittens, but never like gloves.” The
fast-paced and relentless Out Of Breath
is about not knowing how much time you have left, making the most of your life;
it is the only one you’ll have. A similar theme is echoed in Demons’ honest lyrics: “Doesn’t it just break your heart to know
that none of this will last?” and “…
it’s great to be alive”; sadness juxtaposed with optimism. The tennis
metaphor laden Love Forty Down, about
fighting back against defeat and not letting life get you down, is deeper than
the first listen suggests. Final track, Song
For Josh, recalls the memories of a friend’s suicide; questioning why they
never asked for help. Tear-jerking and heartfelt, it strengthens the message of
the album: you never know when you or a loved-one will leave this world
forever.
The Sleeping Souls band brings extra breadth with a range if
instruments including: piano, electric guitar, organ, mandolin, and percussion.
The deluxe edition has an extra disc with acoustic versions
for ten of the twelve songs. They show that, even with a different
accompaniment, Frank’s lyrics remain prolific, life affirming and true.
Frank has delivered another album of purpose, intelligence
and meaning. While many of the songs focus on death, it is an album very much
about life. They are not just Positive
Songs For Negative People but Positive Songs For All People.
Key Tracks: The Next
Storm, The Opening Act Of Spring, Demons, Song For Josh
8/10
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