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 enlarge | Artist: The Fratellis
Label: Island Records
Category: Music
List Price: £16.99
Buy New: £4.00
You Save: £12.99 (76%)
New (25) Used (9) Collectible (1) from £3.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 307
Media: Audio CD
Running Time: 53
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 4.9 x 0.4
UPC: 602517724983
EAN: 0602517724983
ASIN: B0017VSCGA
Release Date: June 9, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Unwanted gift, available for immediate dispatch
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| Customer Reviews:
Here they are June 28, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Fratellis are one of those Britpop bands exploding with energy and lovable roguishness, and that is basically what their debut album "Costello Music" was full of.
Which brings us to their sophomore offeering: "Here We Stand," an album of explosive laddish energy, late wild nights out on the town, and solid catchy riffs, just like their first one. The Glaswegians don't quite stick to a solid sound in this album, but diddle around with a few new styles and tempos -- there's shreds of alt-rock, blues-rock and hard-rock stuck in their Britpop.
They don't really add anything new to their sound -- it's all still bouncy guitar-laden Britpop -- but they diddle around with some other styles from time to time.
"Have you got a shape?" "Yes." "What shape would you be?"
With that odd little conversation, the band busts out into the rattling drums and rapidly blazing riffs of "My Brother John." It's a wild little song of "Saturday night in the year of the good thief," dumb blondes, wild night scenes, and "My friend John was a serious one/Buttoned up the back and a job half done/Lazy old boy when the good girls turn/His teeth get itchy and his rubber soles burn/When will he ever learn?"
They don't lose their momentum in "A Heady Tale," where the countryish guitars are tempered by a fierce, jangly piano and funny lyrics ("you know cold-blooded women make me sneeze"). And as the album winds on, they acquire a bit of a sunny alt-rock sound -- countryish ballads, breezy swaying rockers, fast-moving Britpop, and burning guitarpop. And they finish it off with the smooth, plaintive "Lupe Brown," and a wash of gentle piano that switches midsong into a smashing cascade of guitars.
But they do start to falter a little in the stompy, clumpy "Shameless" and the uneven, uncertain "Tell Me A Lie." Both songs seem to be a foray into harder rock'n'roll, but it feels like they overcrammed the songs with bass and electric riffs. They're far more successful with the more complex melody of "Acid Jazz Singer."
The core of the Fratellis' music has not really changed -- their songs are short, snappy and brimming with lots of pep, and lyrics about drinking, girls and the life of a band. "Here We Stand" is pretty clearly intended to be a fun, not terribly deep listen, and the Fratellis succeed magnificently in that corner -- although it lacks a cohesive sound all the way through. A little experiment here, a little influence there.
Guitars still dominate their music -- they make up most of the instrumentation, and keep everything catchy and nimble. Steely, acoustic, cycling, sharp dancy melodies and blazing electric riffs are spattered liberally all over the album, sometimes woven in with some bass. Solid drums back virtually everything, and occasionally they twine in some jangly piano and weird distortion.
And Jon Fratelli always sounds like a nice boy who's just gotten over a broken heart and a hangover -- his voice is strong but a little rough. And he sings songs that are cleverer and tighter than any previous Fratellis songs ("They got yesterday's heroes and last night clothes/You're a game old boy judging by the way you walk"). And they're full of worn-out acid jazz singers, "Mistress Mabel," and thieving gypsy women.
"Here We Are" is the sound of a band figuring out what they want to be when they grow up, and providing a little entertaining music along the way. Worth hearing, but hopefully leading on to something even better.
Why change a winning formula? June 27, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
With 'Costello Music', The Fratellis gave us an album packed full of fast-paced, sing-a-long indie songs with a slightly hard edge and they've done exactly the same with 'Here We Stand', a high quality collection of instantly likable tunes. 'Costello Music' was always going to be a difficult album to top and, although 'Here We Stand' hasn't bettered their debut, it is certainly able to sit comfortably next to it, like a cheeky little brother.
This album is jam packed full of hard-edged riffs, witty lyrics and good-natured, big choruses. 'My Friend John', 'A Heady Tale' and 'Shameless' are three very catchy, brilliant songs and a great way to start the album; the first track featuring a guitar riff the Arctic Monkeys would be proud of, the second opening with a jaunty piano line - a real knees-up tune, while the last of the opening trio, 'Shameless', continues the theme of upbeat, immediately enjoyable songs.
'Look Out Sunshine!', the forthcoming single, is the 'Whistle For The Choir' of the album and if it isn't a huge summer hit (it is released in August), I would be extremely surprised. 'Straggler's Moon' is a little darker and slightly less immediate, but still a very good song with a quirky, snappy chorus, reminding me a little of Supergrass. The first single, 'Mistress Mabel', is a great tune and is up there with the quality of singles from their debut album.
Other highlights on the album include the charming, foot-tapping tunes 'Babydoll' and 'Acid Jazz Singer', the slow, heavy rock/breakneck-speed blues contrast of 'Tell Me A Lie' (possibly the heaviest thing they have done to date), 'Lupe Brown', which kicks-off with a celtic-like riff and the other two tracks on the album aren't half-bad either (the last track on the album 'Milk And Money' is especially interesting), giving the listener a good listening experience from the start to the very finish.
All-in-all, this is a very pleasing album and a worthy follow-up to their excellent debut. Perhaps it doesn't quite scale the heights of the very best moments of 'Costello Music', but it really isn't far behind. I would wager that people who enjoyed the first album would be much more likely to enjoy this release than not. A quality second album from the Glaswegians.
 A grower but short of great June 24, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having been hooked by Costello Music, I couldn't wait to get stuck in to Here We Stand. The CD arrived, the cover picture looked great, I put the disc in and pressed play. One minute later (having skipped through a few tracks)I pressed eject to check that I hadn't been sent the wrong CD. It just didn't sound like the Fratellis. Well I had been, so I persevered, and after about half a dozen plays it did grow on me and I found myself singing along, but it still doesn't sound quite right. As other's have mentioned the production lets it down in a big way. It sounds flat and too clinical to me. There's none of the roughness of the first album, nor any of the fun. Quite frankly they don't sound like they're enjoying themselves and they've lost that swagger that initially endeared them to me.
The stand out tracks for me are Acid Jazz Singer and Babydoll but there's nothing really to compare to Chelsea Dagger, Baby Fratelli, Henrietta or Ole Black and Blue Eyes.
Fratellis fans will probably grow to like it but I am left with the feeling that whilst they briefly held a lead over their British peers they've now slipped back into the pack.
 give it time!! June 22, 2008
Not as instantly catchy as Costello Music but give it a few listens and you'll be hooked. my Friend John, A Heady Tale and Straggler's Moon are my favourites.
Much better lyrically and the piano playing is terrific!
 Is This Really The Fratellis? June 20, 2008
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
It seems The Fratellis have turned into a post brit-pop/indie band since their last album. Costello Music was Fantastic. I gave it 10/10 in all my reviews because it was original, full of energy, and great fun. It made me feel great listening to it. 'Here We Stand' is nothing in comparison. A below average indie album, boring, awful vocals and a lot of the tunes have been copied from other music I've heard. (So definitely not original). For instance the tune they play in Lupe Brown sounds as if its been copied from the film 'August Rush'. I understand a band should grow, but I don't like the direction they have chosen, or where they are heading. I so wanted to like this album but it comes as a huge disappointment after the success of Costello Music.
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