Ad Frank

Is The World's Best Ex-Boyfriend (2005)

Jordan Rogowski

Look out, Morrissey. Robert Smith, I hope you're taking notes, because the world of music may very well have a new crowned prince of mope. On Boston export Ad Frank's The World's Best Ex-Boyfriend, Frank sings of loves lost and confused, while retaining a good lyrical narrative, and never coming off as being cliché. This is no easy task for the subject matter, but Frank skillfully deviates from any overdone lyrical structures or word usages. Frank is not without help, however, as his backing band the Fast Easy Women offer at times rocking, and at times subdued, background music, but it always accents Frank to a tee.

Frank's main strength lies in the stories that his songs are telling. Be those stories of loss and regret, or almost comical tales as found in "Car Fascist," where Frank tells "And your favors aren't really favors so fuck off / If I'd set out when I wanted, I'd be home by 1:15 / I would have walked off several drinks." Most of the songs, however, are of a far more melancholy nature than what's shown there. As you'd guess with the album title, that's the subject matter that's really addressed with these songs, and even if that's not your thing, Frank presents his narratives in a very strong manner, both vocally and lyrically. The tones of the guitar even seem to have emotions of their own at times, be those emotions of an upbeat or despondent nature. "You Will Never Learn To Play The Cello" is one of the more upbeat tracks on the album, with a bouncy chord progression and repeated chorus of " (Why must you be) such a disappointment? (Why must you be) fate's favorite fool?" In keeping with the more upbeat mood is
"Pool," which is almost entirely percussion and keyboard driven, meshing nicely with the background vocals provided by the Fast Easy Women. While this album may be very sound technically, the anchor of it all is still Frank himself.

I can't quite put my finger on what makes Frank's voice so subtle, but so powerful. It's got a cunning but really honest quality about it that makes his stories come across better than they may have otherwise. His voice is deep and full, but never strays far at all from a low croon. He's no Robert Goulet, but engaging nonetheless, at least enough so to keep the album interesting, as it does end at close to the hour mark. Typically, any longer than 40 minutes, and the sound starts to become stale, but the variation and storytelling keep that from being an issue.

Be it the slow, drawn out tracks, or the upbeat, keyboard-accented ones, Frank's words have a clever, biting way about them. It‘s at times tough to tell sarcasm from sincerity, but it‘s all well written, if nothing else. "I'll Be Your Project" stands as a solid example of this;

Here comes your big chance to be just like Jesus / And feel my soul heal as my private hell freezes / Sweet sticky savior please stay, come hither hun / Ignore the gun, you'll bite it or you'll dodge it / If you withstand the reprimand / For making me your project.

The clever use of rhyme and alliteration is present through most of the songs, though Frank does let a more serious perspective on things come out every once and a while. I'm not comparing the sound here, but fans of Nick Cave, Jeff Buckley, and even David Bowie should find something that they can admire on this album. Be that wit or charisma, Frank has substantial amounts of both to go around.