The Fratellis - Eyes Wide Tongue Tied

The Fratellis
Eyes Wide Tongue Tied
2015

You've probably heard The Fratellis many many times and not even known it. Their 2006 song "Chelsea Danger" is a staple at sporting events and in movie montages. It is one of those one hit wonders that is absolutely inescapable. However that was almost 10 years ago and they have recorded since chipping away at an Indie career. Their newest release Eyes Wide Tongue Tied follows in the same vein as their previous albums with toe tapping sing-a-long lo=fi rock and roll. This record begs to be heard live, it yells and slams the same way you want a band to sound right in front of your face. The first track "Me and the Devil" (which tops out over five and a half minutes) has a piano riff that sounds like it was played on the oldest instrument they could find but still really kicks. This record gets most of it's positive attributes from pure energy alone. The Fratellis push and push the tempo and even on the slower songs like "Desperate Guy" or the aptly names "Slow" the pace is still intense.

For the most part this record doesn't offer any surprises. It is pretty much straight out of The Strokes, The Hives ect playbook. Not much evolution or changing has happened for The Fratellis since 2006. It is not necessarily a bad thing but don't expect to hear anything new from Eyes Wide Tongue Tied. The songs all tend to bleed into one another, and more in the they all sound the same type of way. This album is hard to review because everything makes sense and sounds perfectly fine but there is really very little to get excited about. It ends up being just another generic rock album that underwhelms, but I have a suspicion that this would be incredible to see live.

5 out of 10