CD of The Week

Holy cow has it been five years since we’ve heard from The Fratellis? It sure has, though it may not seem that long. Back in 2009, after releasing and supporting their second record Here We Stand, they decided to go on hiatus so that each member could go work on their side projects. So no, we haven’t heard The Fratellis exactly, but we have definitely heard from the members. Either way, they’ve gotten back together to release their third album titled We Need Medicine.

Recorded in Glasgow, and produced by Jon Fratelli and Stuart McCredie, they’ve hit us with another dose of blues/rock goodness. The album starts off with a track called “Halloween Blues” which really kicks off the record nicely with its use of country guitars, piano, some slide guitar, and a nice saxophone solo. Jon Fratelli, who fronts the band, still sounds awesome as well. Another highlight is “Whisky Saga” with its guitars accompanied by a rocking piano. They tend to slow it down a bit at some points, which may disappoint those who dig their uptempo songs (i.e. "Chelsea Dagger"). “This is Not the End of the World” and the title track “We Need Medicine” are examples of these. They fit in in nicely with the record’s country rock sound, but also aren’t as fun as some of their songs.

The overall quality of these songs is good. Fans of The Fratellis are going to enjoy it for sure. Singing these songs back to the band as the perform them live is going to be a blast. And fans will have that chance as The Fratellis are going to be touring the US this fall, including a stop at World Cafe Livein Philadelphia on November 4th. Now go warm up those singing pipes!