Frank Turner - Love Ire & Song

But if you're all about the destination, then take a fucking flight.
We're going nowhere slowly, but we're seeing all the sights
And we're definitely going to hell,
But we'll have all the best stories to tell.
(Frank Turner - The Ballad Of Me And My Friends)

Frank Turner, fostul lider al trupei de punk rock Million Dead, nu putea sa-si desavarseasca visul recent de a deveni folk hero fara a avea the best stories to tell. Mesaj avea din plin si cand canta in Million Dead, insa ii lipsea chitara acustica. Pe primul album, Sleep Is For The Week, chitara acustica este omniprezenta, insa exclusivitatea ei ar fi limitat posibilitatile viitoare de exprimare muzicala ale artistului. Frank Turner vroia sa scape si de efectele etichetei de trupa politica pe care a avut-o Million Dead, insa extirparea componentei social - politice din discursul sau ar fi golit de sens noua eticheta de folk hero. Intr-o lume in care sunt o gramada de lucruri care merg rau si il supara permanent, oare ce subiect ar fi putut sa-l deturneze pe Frank Turner de la obligatia unui artist folk de a fi un fin observator al realitatii? Iubirea? Exista acel "love" in titlul Love Ire & Song, si daca acest titlu a inlocuit varianta Things That Have Been Annoying Me Recently, anuntata inca din vara anului trecut, inseamna ca trebuie sa fie cateva cantece despre iubire pe acest album. Pentru Frank Turner, treaba cu iubirea statea cam asa: But honey I was lonely on the road, I was all on my own / Hanging outside at the back of a death metal show / I saw you standing there with your hair down low / A kink in your step that made me want to know / If you would like to take me home. Dupa ce a avut peste 400 de concerte in ultimii doi ani, lucrurile s-au schimbat putin: So honey when you're lonely on the road, you're all on your own / Hanging outside at the back of the country show / Picture me there with hat down low / A smile upon my face to let you know / That I would like to take you home. Nici nu ne mai miram ca, dupa o numaratoare simpla, ajunge la concluzia Well I've had many different girls inside my bed / But only one or two inside my head. Exprimarea "one or two" este cam dubioasa, asa ca Frank simte nevoia sa isi expuna putin si latura romantica: But there must be a better half, somewhere out there / I know what she looks like, her face and skin, her smell and the rest / I know the feel of her soul, but God help me I just cannot find her address. Frumos, foarte frumos, dar parca simteam nevoia si de asa ceva: She's not as pretty as she thinks she is / Just picture her after she's had kids / I bet she sits at home and listens to The Smiths / Deep down she's just like everybody else.

Pe langa iubire, Frank ne mai canta si despre moartea unui prieten (Long Live The Queen), conflictul dintre generatii (Well it was bad enough the feeling, and the first time it hit / When you realised your parents had let the world all go to shit), resemnare (Well a teacher of mine once told me / That life was just a list of disappoints and defeats / And you could only do your best, / And I said "That's a fucking cop-out, you're just washed up and your tired, and when I get to your age I won't be such a coward") si nonconformism (All your friends and peers and family solomnly tell you you will / Have to grow up be an adult yeah be bored and unfulfilled / Oh when no ones yet explained to me exactly what's so great / About slaving 50 years away on something that you hate)

Din punct de vedere muzical, lucrurile s-au cam schimbat de la primul album, Sleep Is For The Week. Chitara acustica este sustinuta de o gramada de instrumente, de la chitara electrica, bass si tobe, pana la pian, vioara, balalaica, mandolina sau banjo. In aceste conditii, muzica merge de la un folk simplu spre folk-rock (Imperfect Tense), chiar si spre country cateodata (Photosynthesis), desi acum vreo doi ani ne spunea I was raised in middle England, and not in Nashville Tennessee. Cateva influente orientale (Love Worth Keeping) ne amintesc ca artistul s-a nascut in Bahrain. Insa tot acest fond muzical concentrat nu ar valora mai nimic fara vocea lui Frank Turner, putin atipica pentru folk, care salveaza prin bridgeuri inspirate momentele de monotonie din cateva piese.

Diferentele destul de mari dintre Sleep Is For The Week si Love Ire & Song pot fi puse pe seama maturizarii muzicale a lui Frank Turner, dar si pe firea sa nestatornica. Cand a fost copil s-a lasat de harpa dupa ce a ascultat albumul Killers al trupei Iron Maiden, pentru ca la tinerete sa abandoneze scena punk-rock dupa ce a ascultat seria American Recordings a lui Johnny Cash. Nu putem sa-i reprosam prea multe lui Frank Turner, albumele din seria American Recordings ne-au schimbat pe toti.