Frank Turner’s sophomore album arrived at the end of 2008, so it will get consideration as a best of 2009 release. And deservedly so. This is one of the greatest albums I’ve heard in years. This is punk that doesn’t have to force a sneer or rely on powerpop. It’s rock that moves for resistance and change, rather than to comply with the standards of a bloated genre. For any more, all I can say is this:
It speaks with the brilliance of Bob Dylan but the simplicity of Billy Bragg.
It angers with raw rage like The Sex Pistols.
It growls for change like The Clash.
It inspires appreciation for the commonness of existence like The Kinks.
It finds musical complexity in simplicity like Johnny Cash.
It demands action and defies expectation like 1980s R.E.M.
It’s a masterpiece like Highway 61 Revisited, Don’t Try This At Home, Never Mind the Bollocks, London Calling, Muswell Hillbillies, Live From Folsom Prison, and Eponymous.
I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
