THE Fratellis are set to release their fourth album Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied this Friday. The Glasgow indie rockers celebrate the release of the record with a show at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut the same day.
There’ll be plenty more opportunities for fans to see the band too as they follow their Tut’s show with a string of festival dates, including Midstock Festival in Edinburgh, before heading back to the 02 ABC in Glasgow on November 5.
Nearly ten years have passed since the trio first burst onto the scene, but their passion and enthusiasm remains.
Talking to The National this week, the band’s frontman Jon Fratelli remains incredulous at the band’s continued success.
“We’re acutely aware of how fortunate we are,” says Jon.
“It’s a bit of a comedy – we still somehow get to travel the world and play in front of amazing crowds. There’s never a gig that goes by that we’re not enormously grateful for.”
Jon’s gratitude isn’t misplaced – the band shot to almost immediate success with their debut album Costello Music in 2006, riding the an indie rock tidal wave during the mid 2000s.
It’s a success that the band have since struggled to replicate, despite the continued loyalty of their massive fanbase.
However, whereas many of their peers withered and disappeared, The Fratellis have trudged on regardless.
“Have we been resilient? That would imply we’ve had to fight against something,” muses Jon.
“Rock ‘n’ roll has never felt like an act of war.
“As long as we get the reaction from crowds that we do, I feel like I’ve no choice but to do it.
“I definitely knew after Costello Music that I couldn’t write those songs again though.
“They were written in a short space of time during particular circumstances.
“We’re happy to entertain crowds and play those songs forever, but the main thing is that we play everything we’ve written with the same passion and conviction.”
Jon Fratelli’s commitment to writing songs appears to be constant.
During the band’s brief “indefinite” hiatus in 2009, he wrote both a solo record and an album for his side project Codeine Velvet Club.
Even the process of reforming the band – a huge, risky decision for many bands – was a seemingly low-key decision.
“When we split up I figured that would be it,” says Jon. “At the time, we didn’t feel we had the right to expect to keep going. To start again was just as normal – they were equally as ordinary decisions.”
There’s a distinct lack of drama to the way The Fratellis do things. Jon is quick to describe Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied as the “easiest album they’ve ever made” for example.
The band chose to record the album in Los Angeles, re-recruiting producer Tony Hoffer who worked on both Costello Music and Jon’s 2009 solo debut.
Jon explains: “The process of recording, it was quite business-like. We did do a lot of work before we went in, and I actually wrote most of the songs over last summer. Once the songs arrive though, it’s easy, even if you do have to get them done in the studio pretty quickly. I mean, we’re not Fleetwood Mac, those days are gone.”
The album hasn’t necessarily been rushed, however. There’s a well-defined rockabilly touch to many of these tracks that previous albums only hinted at. While the album lacks the anthemic quality of their debut, it’s fair to say that The Fratellis sound like a different band to the one that wrote Chelsea Dagger all those years ago.
Given the band’s stature in the Scottish music scene, it is refreshing to see them go back and play venues the size of King Tut’s. Unsurprisingly, Jon is quick to brush off accusations of humility.
“I’ll be honest,” he says. “I don’t relish standing directly in front of a drum kit getting my ears mangled. That’s not to say that we’re ‘better than that’ or anything, but it’s just not my personal preference. At the end of the day though, we’ll play anywhere. It all depends on certain conditions on certain nights. When you can feel that tangible atmosphere between the band and the crowd, those nights are the best ones. The truth is that no place is better for us to play. Scotland is still home and the crowds here are unique, but you can find your home anywhere.”
Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied is out on August 21 on Cooking Vinyl Records.
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