Glass

The Franks' last release was a shimmering seductress of a single remixed by the hand of God (Kevin Shields!), and their fourth album contains more sonic surprises but not all necessarily of the pleasant kind. Yes, the Franks have pursued their subtle penchant for all things electronic to such an extent that some of Glass could work as a bug-eyed and uplifting companion piece to Kid A.

Traditionalists needn't fret too much as this still has a firm foot on planet pop with trademark Franks choruses and gentle melodies. The opening 'Underground' is an excellent fusion of analogue and guitar pop, narrating tales of "Spending nights in lonely discos/hiding in the drunken shadows/trying to be amongst the heroes". After this promising opening salvo it’s a shame that the rest of the collection overindulges the production to the extent that if it wasn't for the impassioned vocals, large chunks of Glass would sound insipid and lifeless. Many artists would give anything to work with Rob Kirwan and Flood, but the overdone and overblown studio trickery displayed here makes one itch to hear what the demos were like. 'Sinking' is choc-a-bloc with strange and twisted alt-country verses and a lazy chorus that never gets a chance to escape, while 'Paradise' slightly overdoes the noodly electronica.

The finished product not only sounds slightly strangled, but some of the tunes are a little too far gone and on the twee side. That has always been a plus/minus of the Franks depending on your pop persuasion, but it’s a shame their glorious pop vision has nearly been polished out of recognition.