If The Rolling Stones were starting out now, would they look like The Fratellis? It’s a stupid scenario, really – the Stones were only the Stones because of the era in which they were conceived, and The Fratellis wouldn’t exist if not for the blazing trails of the Stones and a host of good, bad and forgotten imitators.
Then again, maybe it’s just elegant Englishness of The Fratellis’ new record, We Need Medicine, that brings to mind the Stones’ legacy: the white man blues pop sensibility of Halloween Blues, the good times and hedonistic ‘70s rock’n’roll feel of The Old Ghost Town and the floppy-fringed adolescent sullen pop of She’s Not Gone Yet But She’s Leaving. Or maybe the village green rich kid fun of Seven Nights Seven Days, the Keefish riff-happy Shotgun Shoes and the carnival country rock of Whisky Saga. But where the rest of the record hangs around on the eastern side of the Atlantic, This Is Not the End of the World finds a seat next to Alex Chilton and chews the fat about prototypical Southern power-pop; in contrast, The Boomtown Rats might raise their collective hats to Jeannie Nitro, provided Sir Bob isn’t too pissed off at the time.
Maybe the title track is ironic, maybe it’s a subconscious allegorical condemnation, if that makes any grammatical sense. Rock’n’Roll Will Break Your Heart wants to be profound where others have been revelatory, and ends up uttering platitudes; Until She Saves My Soul hints at a catchy rock sensibility that could speak volumes, if only it was let loose. The Fratellis have got something, but not everything just yet.
BY PATRICK EMERY
Best Track: Halloween Blues
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Alex Chilton, The Boomtown Rats and the odd Stones track
In A Word: English
