Frankly

I'm well-known for delving into yesteryear to discover music to listen to (there's something immensely satisfying about finding an artist whose work you've hitherto overlooked, and knowing that they have a ready made back catalogue for you to peruse at your leisure) but there are a handful of modern musicians whose careers I keep tabs on with great interest. Frank Turner - who made his very own appearance in my journal a couple of years back - is one such artist. From his days of semi-obscurity, to the breakthrough record Love Ire & Song (one of the best albums of the 2000s in my 'umble), mainstream success and sudden rock stardom, I've always welcomed new FT releases wholeheartedly. 2009's Poetry Of The Deed felt like a step in the wrong direction, but 2011's England Keep My Bones was a huge return to form, so it's been an eager wait to see what road Tape Deck Heart travels down.

It's certainly a different cup of tea to the last album - gone are the folky sing-alongs, in their place are introspective ballads and philosophical musings on life and love - but highly listenable nonetheless. Frank has gradually evolved away from writing overtly political songs; a wise decision in my view, as his libertarian principles (which essentially come across as "wouldn't it be nice if everyone in society could fend for themselves?") are not something I'm inclined to agree with, and don't make for great protest song material. It hasn't set my own heart (or tape deck) on fire yet, but nevertheless, FT has outdone both Billy Bragg and the Dropkick Murphys on the new album stakes for this year so far.