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Fran Healy - Wreckorder

Rating

RIYL

Travis
Keane
Coldplay
The Beatles

Release Date

10/05/2010

Label

Rykodisc

Tracklist

1. "In the Morning"
2. "Anything"
3. "Sing Me To Sleep"
4. "Fly In The Ointment"
5. "As It Comes"
6. "Buttercups"
7. "Shadow Boxing"
8. "Holiday"
9. "Rocking Chair"
10. "Moonshine"

As a music reviewer, it's always a far greater pleasure to go on about an album that you like than it is to try to find intelligent and varied ways to discount an album that just doesn't cut it. Add in the additional aspect that the artist is one you already enjoyed and the rewards are even better because no one revels in admitting their favorites have made a severe misstep in their career. So it does my musical soul good to pronounce Fran Healy's first solo endeavor, Wreckorder (pronounced “recorder”), a glowing success!

Fran is no amateur to the music landscape, fronting the Scottish band Travis for nearly two decades. Having finally released something under his own name this far into the game could incite fearful visions of a midlife crisis enacted in musical excrement, dabbling in all the things currently popular or fancies that were never allowed being part of a band unit. Lucky for the legions of Travis fans, Fran didn't stray too far from what he does best while still keeping things fresh enough to make this release exciting. While the album certainly has a voice of its own, there is a very dulcet mix of tones that will please fans of Frans work, new and old.

For those familiar with The Invisible Band or The Man Who albums, I highly recommend you listen to the album's first single, “Buttercups,” with its sweet and sour lyrical composition laid over top of the melodic plucking that defined those earlier releases. I'd also point you to the disc's second track, “Anything,” which features Healy's gentle crooning of, “I would do anything, anything for you / and I would be anything, anything for you...” Another obvious selection to point out to the people that enjoy songs in this vein is the upbeat “Holiday” which first saw a release on Travis' acoustic live album last year. It is treated to a more lush musical accompaniment than the stripped version, but it still retains its simplistic design.

To those people who prefer the more complex, dark arrangements found on 12 Memories, “As It Comes” is one of the album's more prominent tracks as he sings from the introspective point of a view of an elderly couple whose lifetime together ends with one's death. This song, along with “Holiday,” were first debuted to Travis fans during Fran and Andy Dunlop's acoustic tour last fall. While “Holiday” remained rather consistent, “As It Comes” sounds drastically different with its funky bass line groove provided by none other than Paul McCartney paired with an abundance of little musical touches to create a fulfilling end result.

In “Rocking Chair” Fran again addresses life from the perspective of one standing at the road's end. It also features a beautiful string arrangement that perfectly compliments the mix of longing and gained wisdom conveyed in the lines of the song. Thirdly, there's the album's opener, “In the Morning,” which opens with an urgent piano piece that, along with Fran's crystal clear voice, ushers you deeper into the dark recesses of the piece; the combination of the percussive piano playing, joined by the hastened and tribal drumming, adds to the intensity of the song's mood. As dramatic violin pieces are integrated in, the song reaches epic proportions. (In a peculiar note, I had previously reviewed the solo release of Jimmy Gnecco earlier this year and there were a couple discussions where parts of his album were compared to Fran Healy. In returning the favor, “In the Morning” actually feels very much like a Jimmy Gnecco song in the way he married the vocal pacing and the drumbeat mixed with the overall tone of the song.)

The remainder of the tracks are fun, quirky numbers that don't bring particular Travis comparisons to mind, but still easily hold their own. “Sing Me to Sleep” (featuring Neko Case) is an electronically tinged duet with a spectral ambiance throughout. “Fly in the Ointment” is a jazzy little number akin to a slowed down Brian Setzer composition with darker shades painted over the top. “Shadow Boxing” is an ambient soundscape that musically would've easily fit on Radiohead's In Rainbows. The album's closer, “Moonshine,” is a swagger filled, fun little sendoff where Fran plays with lullaby riddled lyrics and falsettos that are in direct contrast to the heavy tones that lead off the album.

In true Fran fashion, most every song on the album tells its self-contained story, rather than just writing vague, trite lyrics as so many pop musicians tend to. Wreckorder clocks in at a reasonable 40 minutes, and with each song having a distinct sound, there's no real opportunity or reason to get bored and lose interest. All in all, I think Fran has managed to assemble one of the best solo albums from a well established band that I've heard yet. I don't foresee any of the album turning into a novelty and losing appeal in the near future, so I think it's pretty safe to say that Wreckorder is a must own for any fans of the brit-rock scene, no matter your age!

--Jeremy Deal