video review: 'for you' by frankmusik

So yeah, fun review. Damn shame I couldn't film another one tonight, thanks to the celebratory noise (and me living in downtown Toronto - GO JAYS!). But rest assured, that Uncommon Nasa review is on the way, plus something you guys have been requesting - stay tuned!

album review: 'for you' by frankmusik

Oh, I've been looking forward to this one.

See, I think it was more coincidence than anything that I decided to pick up Frankmusik's 2014 album By Nicole, figuring there was bound to be quality given his work with Colette Carr. What I didn't expect was tightly written, explosive synthpop backed by the impressively raw vocals of Vincent Frank, where as pop music was getting more polished and reserved he was doubling down on intense passion... which could get a little awkward considering it was, for all intents and purposes, a breakup album. Because believe me, when By Nicole worked we got killer songs like 'Misdemeanor' and 'Uh Oh' and 'These Streets' and 'Call To Arms' and 'Conclusions', the last two being some my favourite songs of 2014... but as a whole, it felt a little too overwrought for the material it was trying to tackle and could have afforded a little more subtlety to undercut the bitterness.

But that said, even despite its flaws By Nicole hit enough high points that when I heard Frankmusik's new album For You was grounded in more contentment, pitching the bitterness and grief to the winds, I was definitely interested. After all, 'Call To Arms' was probably the simplest song on By Nicole in terms of being a raw, straightforward pump-up track, but it was also the best - if he could throw together a pop album of tracks like that, he could have a smash hit on his hands. So I had high hopes for this album, and pretty high expectations too - did For You deliver?

the top 50 best songs of 2014 (part ii: 25-1) (VIDEO)

And there's part two. One last list to come, stay tuned!

video review: 'by nicole' by frankmusik

Well, this was fairly quick to take in.

Okay, I still need more time before covering Lykke Li, Epica, or Lily Allen, so either Lindsey Stirling or that Ought band Pitchfork went crazy about. Stay tuned!

album review: 'by nicole' by frankmusik

One of the very first video reviews I ever did was one that caught me by surprise in a good way. The album was Colette Carr's debut album Skitszo, and while I won't deny there were significant issues with that album, it did showcase a promising talent with a lot of personality, and 'No I.D.', a song from that album, landed on my year-end list of the Top 50 songs of 2013.

What's interesting is that that song didn't technically debut in 2013. In fact, the song was originally placed on the album of her main collaborator Frankmusik, a synthpop musician and producer who released that album Do It In The AM in 2011. Admittedly, this proves more than a little frustrating for me, but the song is still great and giving it a chance to get it and Colette Carr some additional recognition is all a good thing. Plus, given the fact that Skitszo was assembled from numerous assorted EPs and other songs, I'm inclined to give it a pass.

But what about Frankmusik, the male singer on the track? Well, after parting ways with his record label in 2011, he set off to make synthpop albums on his own label, first with Between in 2013 and now By Nicole this year. And I'll admit I was curious - I liked the slick glossiness of his production, he had a taste for solid melodic progressions, and he was a convincing presence behind the microphone. So I gave the new album By Nicole a few listens - how did it go?