 Frankie
Machine
"Re-Unmelt My Heart" CD
Artists
Against Success
Genres: folk-pop, indie pop, lo-fi
artist
website
Jan 10 - 16 2005 |
Frankie Machine (also known as Francis Albert Machine,
whose singles collection I reviewed earlier last year) is a
consistently impressive bedroom pop musician. Re-Unmelt My
Heart is his third full-length release, and it marks another
successful chapter in Frankie's underground musical
legacy. He seems to be building a small following in the vein of
Smog and Guided By Voices, but his folky indie pop brew
is more uplifting than the former and less overtly melodic than the
latter.
Re-Unmelt My Heart's most noticeable quirk is its use of
samples and electronic elements. The songs here are littered
with atmosphere-setting effects (including a neat porn-star loop on
"Why Are You #2), adding an interesting dimension to Frankie's
distinct, drearily melodic style. The album-opening title-track
is an immediate selection for this record's best song, as it is far
more immediately catchy and satisfying than the CD's other tunes - it
boasts a wonderful acoustic guitar line and lush, downtrodden
vocals. "Funny Looking Clever" is another charming
number, cramming a cute structure and some very sweet lyrics into a
one-minute timeframe. Its charming subject matter will leave a
melancholy smile on your face ("All I want is a girl who is as
funny and as clever as she is ugly so we'll never get bored and we'll
never stop laughing and she won't ever want to leave me.")
"Black Eyes #3" and "Japanese Sigh" also boast
wonderful melodies.
Why Frankie Machine doesn't have more attention and praise
lavished upon him is beyond me, as his indie pop formula seems pretty
universally appealing. Perhaps too fragile and low-key for the
world's more excitable music fans, Re-Unmelt My Heart is the
perfect record for lovers of emotional, rewardingly melodic pop music.
86%
Fun Fact: "Funny Looking
Clever," this album's seventh song, was created for the 60x60
compilation - a collection of sixty songs, each one exactly 60 seconds
long.
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
14 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2004] |
