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Frank Turner - No Man’s Land


Broken English

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So yeah, I’m still trying to process this one. 

 

Ive been a Frank Turner fan for about a decade, and aside from Sister Rosetta, I can’t find a single redeeming feature of this album. 

 

It’s lyrically unsophisticated, clumsy, generic, contrived and all round terrible. It sounds like all his worst moments as a compilation album. 

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1 hour ago, Broken English said:

So yeah, I’m still trying to process this one. 

 

Ive been a Frank Turner fan for about a decade, and aside from Sister Rosetta, I can’t find a single redeeming feature of this album. 

 

It’s lyrically unsophisticated, clumsy, generic, contrived and all round terrible. It sounds like all his worst moments as a compilation album. 

I haven't heard it yet but I absolutely adore Jinny Bingham's Ghost, it's like having old Frank back, probably the best song he's written since anything on Tape Deck Heart. Sister Rosetta was just a bit dull to me, I quite like I Believed You William Blake, haven't heard the rest to really comment. 

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Listened through now.

I think theres some solid tracks on it, like the two I mentioned are probably my favourites but Lioness is pretty good, as is The Graveyard Of The Outcast Dead and Rosemary Jane but most of it is pretty tame. I think it being a tad simple and slow is probably intentional, to reflect the times these stories are focused around, it's a bit 'old folk' as a concept. it's a story book album, as a result it's not as natural a writing method as he's used to, he's telling historic stories after all, so I think thats why he's done it the way he has. To be honest though it's quite refreshing compared to the dross he's put out on the last two records, there's actually some very interesting ideas buried in here. 

I think he should've taken this concept and done a larger EP and not a full blown album (which I believe is what he intended in the first place) but sonically I welcome a lot of it, it's much more pleasant to me than the last two records. 

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4 minutes ago, Kay said:

Listened through now.

I think theres some solid tracks on it, like the two I mentioned are probably my favourites but Lioness is pretty good, as is The Graveyard Of The Outcast Dead and Rosemary Jane but most of it is pretty tame. I think it being a tad simple and slow is probably intentional, to reflect the times these stories are focused around, it's a bit 'old folk' as a concept. it's a story book album, as a result it's not as natural a writing method as he's used to, he's telling historic stories after all, so I think thats why he's done it the way he has. To be honest though it's quite refreshing compared to the dross he's put out on the last two records, there's actually some very interesting ideas buried in here. 

I think he should've taken this concept and done a larger EP and not a full blown album (which I believe is what he intended in the first place) but sonically I welcome a lot of it, it's much more pleasant to me than the last two records. 

I really hope it’ll grow on me, but the lyrics to every song are so uninspired and unsophisticated. They’re like if a primary school teacher told a third grade student to study a famous figure and write a poem about it. 

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5 minutes ago, Broken English said:

I really hope it’ll grow on me, but the lyrics to every song are so uninspired and unsophisticated. They’re like if a primary school teacher told a third grade student to study a famous figure and write a poem about it. 

I get what you mean for some of them but for others I think you're way off. some of them are actually quite clever lyrically, but as it's historical and analytical it can't be as fanciful and emotional as more personable songwriting. 

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26 minutes ago, Kay said:

I get what you mean for some of them but for others I think you're way off. some of them are actually quite clever lyrically, but as it's historical and analytical it can't be as fanciful and emotional as more personable songwriting. 

Which song lyrics are decent so I can give them another go. 

 

Because I’m about twelve seconds from never listening to this bullshit ever again, and forgetting it ever happened. 

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Just now, Broken English said:

Which song lyrics are decent so I can give them another go. 

 

Because I’m about twelve seconds from never listening to this bullshit ever again, and forgetting it ever happened. 

lol well Jinny Bingham I really like the lyrics of throughout, the way they work with the metre is pretty well done. but Hymn of Kassiani had it's moments as well. I'm not saying they're amazing lyrics by his usual standards, but I found them interesting without being forced like some of them appear to be. 

"Yes I hid from his eyes when he visited
But don't dare think me frightened or meek
I was sick of his ineffable condescension
And I will not kiss those sacred feet
I will make his footsteps into music
To be heard by both heathen and Greek
They will mock his meanderings in paradise at twilight
And they'll remember me: Kassiani
She who hates silence when it's time to speak"

I also loved little parts lyrically of I Believed You William Blake. specifically

"My husband he talks with angels
And with spirits that he can see
He passes time with the divine
But not so much with me"

----

"We scraped by in the shadows
Sown with pity and with scorn
The great and good they never could
Recognize a prophet born"

 

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It's definitely not amazing but it's not the dumpster fire people keep acting like it is. There's a handful of good tracks, more than I can say for anything since tape deck. 

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13 hours ago, Kay said:

It's definitely not amazing but it's not the dumpster fire people keep acting like it is. There's a handful of good tracks, more than I can say for anything since tape deck. 

No, it’s definitely a dumpster fire that two homeless people are trying to extinguish by pissing on it  

 

Every album of his has has had at least three or four standout tracks. This has none, it’s irredeemably shit. 

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8 hours ago, Broken English said:

No, it’s definitely a dumpster fire that two homeless people are trying to extinguish by pissing on it  

 

Every album of his has has had at least three or four standout tracks. This has none, it’s irredeemably shit. 

Well, I disagree. I straight up love 3 of them and that's more than I can say for his previous two albums, and none of them annoy the shit out of me which, again, is more than I can say for his previous two. I don't see what the problem is apart from some being a bit dull. 

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5 hours ago, Kay said:

Well, I disagree. I straight up love 3 of them and that's more than I can say for his previous two albums, and none of them annoy the shit out of me which, again, is more than I can say for his previous two. I don't see what the problem is apart from some being a bit dull. 

To each their own. 

 

Im going to do my best to pretend he never released it. 

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