FranKo, from South East London, released their 10-track debut album back at the end of March, with their strong lyrics and creative, well-written Rock making them stand out from the crowd. At an average age of about 18 or 19, these guys are really talented for their age, and it’s nice to see some people with real skill performing together. Despite their age, they don’t seem to be on the Busted/McFly/Son Of Dork (shudder) road, which is a good thing in my books. They have even had some media coverage across the pond, which is no mean feat. The album is described as ‘an adrenaline shot they won’t forget in a hurry’ on their fairly snazzy Myspace, so lets give it a whirl.
The album kicks things off with ‘Night Time’, which is a chance for them all to showcase their individual talents to everyone. Complicated bass riffs all over the place, tight drums, a big guitar solo and a sing-a-long chorus all make this into a catchy number. The album ranged from pure un-adulterated hard-rock tracks like ‘Waiting’ with fat chuggy guitar riffs to numbers that sound like a heavier Maroon 5 number, to massive mid-song guitar solos in tracks like ‘Going Down’.
The last track ‘Take A bow’ is one of my favourites, with great syncopated guitar riffs and catchy lyrics. It’s a shame they popped it at the end, but the slowed down ending works quite well to finish things off and send you on your way. ‘Love For Fame’ has some great guitar riffs in it, that are perfectly complimented by the vocals The production on this album is very tight, and it sounds like a professional record. I don’t think it would have been as good had it not been as well recorded as it is.
Overall, there is a nice mix of great songwriting on this album. Each track has little parts or elements that really make a different in this kind of music to stand out from the masses of other stuff out there.
