The Frank and Walters - 'Glass', 2 October 2000
I'm still telling this story to anyone who cares. Back in October 1992 I saw the Frank and Walters twice on their UK tour, once at the Astoria and three days later at the slightly more intimate Kent University. On both occasions they were supported by a considerably less popular Radiohead, and who was to know that eight years later they would both be releasing their fourth albums on the same day to such wildly differing fanbases? Yet to me, I still wonder what the F&W have to do to break back into the top 100, let alone the top 10. I could probably guess that a good start would be not to sound too much like Bis, who in turn are sounding too much like Yazoo. The word "electronic" comes to mind when listening to the first track, future single "Underground", but the definition is closer to Stylophone than the Chemical Brothers.
The charts' loss, however, is our gain. If you can forgive the peculiar bleeping that skirts over several of the tracks, several of the tracks are as good as any output the band has produced. Isn't It Time and 6 Becomes 9 both take you back to the early 90s, while New York and Looking For America remind us how we eagerly anticipated new output from the band which had holed up in the States and, well, did nothing for years. Good to see their output has speeded up a little since then. Now, what happened to the Sultans of Ping ...
This album is full of perfectly crafted pop tunes, go out and buy it. But have you seen it sitting on the shelves of HMV, Virgin, Woolworths? Did you see adverts interrupting the Big Breakfast? Of course not ... kids these days just want to listen to Eminem and Fred Durst. You selfish, selfish little bastards.
By the way, Radiohead are still eternally grateful for the Franks' patronage. If you don't believe me, read for yourself.