Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

They say that an artist should never find themselves continually painting the same view on the canvas before them, it stunts the overall vision, the observation, and whilst that particular canvas will show the continuing age, the scenic era as it blossoms and corrodes with time and be remarked upon for the one frame changes, it does nothing for the artist that they cannot surround themselves with other scenes, take in different ideas and paint with words, with pictures, with thoughts; change is necessary and essential to keep the art thought-provoking and stimulating the nerves of those who seek it out.

A piece of art of any persuasion is only as enlightening as the artist who sees the value in chasing down a new vision, a new song to sing, a step removed from what they have always been and it is one that is captured with challenge and thought by Jon Fratelli in his new album, Bright Night Flowers.

It is not so much in the unexpected change of direction, out goes the carefully driven humour and youthful wit that has carried him and The Fratellis’ with charm and over-riding style for over a decade but it is in the sombre relaxation that has given him a sense of style, of being in the mode of perhaps one of the greatest exponents of the poetic serenade; a hard task to convey such meaning, especially when one has found a way to mirror the tone set out by Leonard Cohen in his incredible career.

The canvas has changed, it seems not just slightly but in a cascade of new interpretation and meaning, an artist shedding his skin and announcing to the world to look what was always stirring in the heart underneath. In songs such as Evangeline, Crazy Lovers Song, Dreams Don’t Remember Your Name, After A While and the album’s title track, Bright Night Flowers, what becomes striking to the listener is that the appeal of this new and comforting direction is one that Jon Fratelli always wanted to show, the chart hits and the songs forever being blasted out in celebration at sporting events are one thing, but the artist requires beauty, needs to be themselves and in Bright Night Flowers that arrangement with subtle craft has reaped its own rewards.

An album that is seasoned and tastes like amber is not to be dismissed, a piece of art that proves that some things come alive in the night time.

Ian D. Hall