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Here We Stand | 
| Artist: Fratellis
Label: Universal
Category: Music
List Price: £11.99
Buy New: £8.98
You Save: £3.01 (25%)
New (38) Used (5) from £5.48
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 14
Media: Audio CD
Running Time: 53
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 4.9 x 0.4
UPC: 602517724983
EAN: 0602517724983
ASIN: B0017VSCGA
Release Date: June 9, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | My Friend John | | • | A Heady Tale | | • | Shameless | | • | Look Out Sunshine! | | • | Stragglers Moon | | • | Mistress Mabel | | • | Jesus Stole My Baby | | • | Baby Doll | | • | Tell Me A Lie | | • | Acid Jazz Singer | | • | Lupe Brown | | • | Milk & Money |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Harder Rock, More Rythm and again instantly loveable July 4, 2008
Costello Music, when the Fratellis debuted on the mainstream in 2006 was an album that from the very first song, you fell in love with the album and the band. Their music was instantly memorable and something that you could get up and dance to without giving much thought to what you were listening to. The art of the Fratellis is that they can make music with excellent lyrics for those who pay attention to that aspect of music, and it's catchy making them the prime choice for parties. Costello Music made an impact and gave the indie bands some credibility amongst the mainstream audiences. Usually when a new band or artist has such a successful debut they generally fail to live up to that hype with their second album.
Here We Stand, was not just the second Fratellis album, but it was an extension of their musical ability. The "Rock" aspect of their music is instantly more apparent with the first song of the album "My Friend John."
You instantly become aware that the Fratellis aren't necessarily moving away from the Costello Music sound, but they seem to be wanting to extend their sound into something even more memorable. The first released single of the album Mistress Mable is once again a unique sound for what we're used to from the Fratellis. That song can only be compared to the Elton John piano rock songs of the past and is something that the Fratellis can be thanked for, for bringing them into the present.
My top 5
1. My Friend John
2. Shameless
3. Mistress Mable
4. Look Out Sunshine
5. Acid Jazz Singer
Here they are June 28, 2008
The Fratellis are one of those Britpop bands exploding with energy and lovable roguishness, and that is basically what their debut album "Costello Music" was full of.
Which brings us to their sophomore offeering: "Here We Stand," an album of explosive laddish energy, late wild nights out on the town, and solid catchy riffs, just like their first one. The Glaswegians don't quite stick to a solid sound in this album, but diddle around with a few new styles and tempos -- there's shreds of alt-rock, blues-rock and hard-rock stuck in their Britpop.
They don't really add anything new to their sound -- it's all still bouncy guitar-laden Britpop -- but they diddle around with some other styles from time to time.
"Have you got a shape?" "Yes." "What shape would you be?"
With that odd little conversation, the band busts out into the rattling drums and rapidly blazing riffs of "My Brother John." It's a wild little song of "Saturday night in the year of the good thief," dumb blondes, wild night scenes, and "My friend John was a serious one/Buttoned up the back and a job half done/Lazy old boy when the good girls turn/His teeth get itchy and his rubber soles burn/When will he ever learn?"
They don't lose their momentum in "A Heady Tale," where the countryish guitars are tempered by a fierce, jangly piano and funny lyrics ("you know cold-blooded women make me sneeze"). And as the album winds on, they acquire a bit of a sunny alt-rock sound -- countryish ballads, breezy swaying rockers, fast-moving Britpop, and burning guitarpop. And they finish it off with the smooth, plaintive "Lupe Brown," and a wash of gentle piano that switches midsong into a smashing cascade of guitars.
But they do start to falter a little in the stompy, clumpy "Shameless" and the uneven, uncertain "Tell Me A Lie." Both songs seem to be a foray into harder rock'n'roll, but it feels like they overcrammed the songs with bass and electric riffs. They're far more successful with the more complex melody of "Acid Jazz Singer."
The core of the Fratellis' music has not really changed -- their songs are short, snappy and brimming with lots of pep, and lyrics about drinking, girls and the life of a band. "Here We Stand" is pretty clearly intended to be a fun, not terribly deep listen, and the Fratellis succeed magnificently in that corner -- although it lacks a cohesive sound all the way through. A little experiment here, a little influence there.
Guitars still dominate their music -- they make up most of the instrumentation, and keep everything catchy and nimble. Steely, acoustic, cycling, sharp dancy melodies and blazing electric riffs are spattered liberally all over the album, sometimes woven in with some bass. Solid drums back virtually everything, and occasionally they twine in some jangly piano and weird distortion.
And Jon Fratelli always sounds like a nice boy who's just gotten over a broken heart and a hangover -- his voice is strong but a little rough. And he sings songs that are cleverer and tighter than any previous Fratellis songs ("They got yesterday's heroes and last night clothes/You're a game old boy judging by the way you walk"). And they're full of worn-out acid jazz singers, "Mistress Mabel," and thieving gypsy women.
"Here We Are" is the sound of a band figuring out what they want to be when they grow up, and providing a little entertaining music along the way. Worth hearing, but hopefully leading on to something even better.
Why change a winning formula? June 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
With 'Costello Music', The Fratellis gave us an album packed full of fast-paced, sing-a-long indie songs with a slightly hard edge and they've done exactly the same with 'Here We Stand', a high quality collection of instantly likable tunes. 'Costello Music' was always going to be a difficult album to top and, although 'Here We Stand' hasn't bettered their debut, it is certainly able to sit comfortably next to it, like a cheeky little brother.
This album is jam packed full of hard-edged riffs, witty lyrics and good-natured, big choruses. 'My Friend John', 'A Heady Tale' and 'Shameless' are three very catchy, brilliant songs and a great way to start the album; the first track featuring a guitar riff the Arctic Monkeys would be proud of, the second opening with a jaunty piano line - a real knees-up tune, while the last of the opening trio, 'Shameless', continues the theme of upbeat, immediately enjoyable songs.
'Look Out Sunshine!', the forthcoming single, is the 'Whistle For The Choir' of the album and if it isn't a huge summer hit (it is released in August), I would be extremely surprised. 'Straggler's Moon' is a little darker and slightly less immediate, but still a very good song with a quirky, snappy chorus, reminding me a little of Supergrass. The first single, 'Mistress Mabel', is a great tune and is up there with the quality of singles from their debut album.
Other highlights on the album include the charming, foot-tapping tunes 'Babydoll' and 'Acid Jazz Singer', the slow, heavy rock/breakneck-speed blues contrast of 'Tell Me A Lie' (possibly the heaviest thing they have done to date), 'Lupe Brown', which kicks-off with a celtic-like riff and the other two tracks on the album aren't half-bad either (the last track on the album 'Milk And Money' is especially interesting), giving the listener a good listening experience from the start to the very finish.
All-in-all, this is a very pleasing album and a worthy follow-up to their excellent debut. Perhaps it doesn't quite scale the heights of the very best moments of 'Costello Music', but it really isn't far behind. I would wager that people who enjoyed the first album would be much more likely to enjoy this release than not. A quality second album from the Glaswegians.
Co- 'Stella' Music June 26, 2008
In this competitive and bland world of music dictates fashion/ fashion dictates music, its very easy to immediately dismiss the new Fratellis album and go for newer options that Ting Ting a little louder in your sub conciouse. The first listen of Here We Stand will possibly generate mumbles of 'One hit wonders'. However, this would be a mistake, for The Fratellis explosive follow up Here We Stand, does everything a follow up album should. It still provides the loud, brash and arrogant distortion of the first album, complete with quirky anicdotal lyrics, but it is on a much higher level. Songs like Shameless, Lupey Brown, and A heady Tale all deliver the goods and the OH OH OH OH OHs! of Tell Me A Lie will surely send festival crowds wild with its anthemic sing a long stance, much like Chelsea Dagger did on its release in 2006. The single Mistress Mable serves as an example of the bands ability to make an anthem out of a simple melody. Whereas before The Fratellis were a small band with a big voice, Here We Stand propels them into the stratosphere of arena rock. Think of giving a reliable workman bigger tools and you'll pretty much be there.
 A grower but short of great June 24, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having been hooked by Costello Music, I couldn't wait to get stuck in to Here We Stand. The CD arrived, the cover picture looked great, I put the disc in and pressed play. One minute later (having skipped through a few tracks)I pressed eject to check that I hadn't been sent the wrong CD. It just didn't sound like the Fratellis. Well I had been, so I persevered, and after about half a dozen plays it did grow on me and I found myself singing along, but it still doesn't sound quite right. As other's have mentioned the production lets it down in a big way. It sounds flat and too clinical to me. There's none of the roughness of the first album, nor any of the fun. Quite frankly they don't sound like they're enjoying themselves and they've lost that swagger that initially endeared them to me.
The stand out tracks for me are Acid Jazz Singer and Babydoll but there's nothing really to compare to Chelsea Dagger, Baby Fratelli, Henrietta or Ole Black and Blue Eyes.
Fratellis fans will probably grow to like it but I am left with the feeling that whilst they briefly held a lead over their British peers they've now slipped back into the pack.
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