Frank Turner

Sleep Is for the Week (2007)

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I write this review to you in pure awe. After the final seconds went by on the thirteenth and final track off of Frank Turner's Sleep Is for the Weak, I was literally speechless. Too bad I'm not fingerless, right? Wrong, because I have a feeling if I hadn't reviewed this than nobody would have and that's not right at all, because this album is just that damn good.

Just to get it out of the way, if you don't enjoy folk with large traces of pop-punk at its finest then you can post your "this shit sucks" comments right now and stop reading.

Along with Dive Dive as a backing band, Frank Turner is able to create an album that is packed full of incredibly catchy songs where stories of angst, love, loss, hate, and booze fall out of Turner's mouth in a way which opens ears to somebody who takes passion in his work and really knows how to express it within song.

"The Real Problem" starts the album off, consisting of catchy acoustic guitar hooks combined with Turner's amazingly fitting voice spilling out lyrics that some of us can relate to: "I started the night with all my friends and I ended up alone / Oh yes I started out so happy now I'm hung-over and down / It was about then that I realized / I was half-way through
the best years of my life."

This album is consistently entertaining and catchy throughout all tracks and has very little filler, if any, at all. The added elements of the violin (i.e."Vital Signs") and piano (i.e."The Real Problem") showcase that this is so much more than just another loner singing sappy songs on an acoustic guitar.

Amazing is an overused word these days; yet, I can't help using it to describe this album. The amount of talent layered out through the music, lyrics, and vocals is immeasurable. You will understand what that means once you give this album a spin. If Turner keeps this up then watch out for his next release, because I have a feeling that things are only going to get better. So, kids, if you are looking for an album to enjoy, whether sitting around a bonfire smoking joints or sitting in your bedroom bored, I highly recommend Sleep Is for the Weak.

Standout tracks: