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Be More Kind

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Be More Kind
Studio album by
Frank Turner
Released4 May 2018
Recorded2017
Studio
Various
  • Niles City Sound Studios, Fort Worth, Texas
  • East West Studios, Los Angeles
  • Livingston Studios, London
GenreIndie rock, indie folk
Length48:27
Label
Producer
  • Austin Jenkins
  • Joshua Blocks
  • Charlie Hugall
  • Chris Vivion
Frank Turner chronology
Positive Songs for Negative People
(2015) 		Be More Kind
(2018)
Singles from Be More Kind
  1. "1933"
    Released: 28 January 2018
  2. "Be More Kind"
    Released: 23 February 2018
  3. "Blackout"
    Released: 16 March 2018
  4. "Make America Great Again"
    Released: 9 April 2018
  5. "Little Changes"
    Released: 30 April 2018

Be More Kind is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Frank Turner,[1] released on 4 May 2018 by Xtra Mile Recordings.[2]

Composition

Its title is based on a line from a Clive James poem first published in the 3 June 2013 issue of The New Yorker in which he describes his own mortality called "Leçons des Ténèbres". The line which inspired the title reads: "I should have been more kind. It is my fate. To find this out, but find it out too late."

The album has been described as "a record that combines universal anthems with raw emotion and the political and the personal, with the intricate folk and punk roar trademarks of Turner's sound imbued with new, bold experimental shades."[3]

It was produced by Austin Jenkins and Joshua Block, formerly of psychedelic-rock Texans White Denim, and Florence and the Machine and Halsey collaborator Charlie Hugall.

The artwork for the album, including one illustration for each song, was done by Ben Rix. Rix also invited people to submit their own artwork to add to the process online.[4]

Release

Frank Turner promoted the album with a Live Q&A session on Facebook on 30 January.[5] In the interview he cites the book Rip It Up and Start Again as a strong influence on the sonics of the album. Other influences he mentions in the interview are Soft Cell, New Order, Wire, Gang of Four and mid-period Cure. He also recommended Clive James' book Cultural Amnesia. In one interview, he described the album as being "somewhere between indie rock and punk rock and country and folk".[6]

Promotion for the album includes an interview with NME.[7]

"There She Is" had previously been available on his compilation album Songbook. The first song that was made available for streaming from the album was "1933".

A music video animation for the title song was released on YouTube on 22 February. The first proper single to be released from the album, "Blackout", was released on 16 March. Turner described it thus on a link sent out to fans on 17 March: "This was one of the first tracks we finished in the studio in Texas, and it really pointed the way forward - it's the first song of mine you could get away with playing in a club, I think, and it's about trying to find connections with other people when the lights go out."

"Make America Great Again" from the album was released on 9 April.[8]

"Little Changes" was released a few days before the album on the last day of April. Frank Turner wrote: "Little Changes started out as a simple folk song about relationships, in particular drawing on my experiences with CBT therapy in the last couple of years – the idea of trying to make small, practical adjustments to your life, which can add up to something significant. Over time, the music grew in a really interesting, early 80s pop direction, and the metaphor of the lyric grew into something more expansive."

The boxed set of the album included an extra song, "How It Began", only available as the B-side of the 7 inch vinyl single for "Blackout".

Music videos

  • "There She Is" (Live acoustic version)[9]
  • "1933"[10]
  • "Be More Kind"[11]
  • "Blackout"[12]
  • "Make America Great Again"[13]
  • "Little Changes"[14]
  • "How It Began "[15]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[16]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[17]
NME[18]
Pop Matters8/10[19]
The Independent[20]
Clash Music6/10[21]
Punk News[22]
Drowned in Sound8/10[23]

According to Metacritic, Be More Kind received 81 out of 100 in aggregated reviews, indicating "Universal critical acclaim".[16]

In a pre-release review, NME gave it 4 stars out of 5, stating that "Frank remains one of our most consistently punchy, stirring and chaff-free songwriters – now, finally, with Something To Say Again."[18]

MusicOMH concluded that "the record is refreshingly honest and delivers a timeless message with passion and plenty of anthemic hooks. What more could you want from a Frank Turner record?"[24]

In a neutral review, Aaron Mook of Chorus.fm wrote, "This is a fine record, but one that is hurt by poor sequencing and an overall lack of bite. The boldest trick here – an attempt to rebrand its titular phrase by "making racists ashamed again" in “Make America Great Again” – is a well-intentioned swing and a miss that fails to make a slogan shrouded in white supremacy any more comfortable to sing along to."[25]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Frank Turner, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Don't Worry"3:13
2."1933"3:07
3."Little Changes"3:26
4."Be More Kind"4:06
5."Make America Great Again"3:28
6."Going Nowhere"3:59
7."Brave Face"3:36
8."There She Is"3:48
9."21st Century Survival Blues"3:58
10."Blackout"3:56
11."Common Ground"4:14
12."The Lifeboat"4:10
13."Get It Right"3:26
Total length:48:27

Personnel

Credits adapted from the Be More Kind liner notes.

Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls

  • Frank Turner – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • Ben Lloyd – electric guitar, mandolin, backing vocals
  • Tarrant Anderson – bass guitar, upright bass, backing vocals
  • Matt Nasir – piano, keyboards, organ, synthesizer, string arrangements, backing vocals
  • Nigel Powell – drums, percussion, programming, backing vocals

Additional musicians

  • Njia Martin – backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 7)
  • Brandon Mills – backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 7)
  • Bonnie Bishop – backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 7)
  • Abraham Ademola – backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 7)
  • Philippa Ashdown – backing vocals (track 11)
  • Austin Jenkins – backing vocals (track 13)
  • Veronica Gan – violin (tracks 4, 8, 12)
  • Anna Jenkins – violin (tracks 1, 3)
  • Buffi Jacobs – cello (tracks 4, 8, 12)
  • Jo Silverston – cello (tracks 1, 3)
  • Russell Echols – trumpet (track 3)
  • Clay Pritchard – saxophone (track 3)
  • Justin Barbee – trumpet (track 12)
  • Bill Churchville – trumpet (track 8)
  • John Mason – french horn (track 8)
  • Fred Greene - tuba (track 8)
  • Chris Tedesco - conductor

Production personnel

  • Austin Jenkins – production, musical arrangement
  • Joshua Block – production, engineering
  • Chris Vivion – production, engineering
  • Charlie Hugall – mixing, production
  • Matt Lawrence – mixing
  • Brendon Dekora – engineering
  • Frank Arkwright - mastering
  • Ben Rix - art and design
  • Production and engineering by Niles City Sound

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[26] 19
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27] 87
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] 12
Irish Albums (IRMA)[29] 55
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[30] 8
Scottish Albums (OCC)[31] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 25
UK Albums (OCC)[33] 3
US Billboard 200[34] 95

References

  1. ^ "Frank Turner interview: his new album, festival and why the UK government are "crap"". 10 May 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Frank Turner announces new album Be More Kind". Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  3. ^ "FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS". Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Home - Frank Turner - Be More Kind". Frank Turner - Be More Kind. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Frank Turner". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Frank Turner on Trump, Twitter, depression and leaving his comfort zone". 26 April 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Frank Turner interview: his new album, festival and why the UK government are "crap"". 10 May 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Frank Turner on Twitter". Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  9. ^ "There She Is (Live Acoustic)". YouTube. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  10. ^ "1933". YouTube. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Be More Kind". YouTube. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Blackout". YouTube. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Make America Great Again". YouTube. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Little Changes". YouTube. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  15. ^ "How It Began". YouTube. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Be More Kind by Frank Turner". Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  17. ^ "Be More Kind - Frank Turner - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  18. ^ a b "Frank Turner – 'Be More Kind' Review - NME". NME. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  19. ^ "Frank Turner Asks Us to 'Be More Kind'". 15 May 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  20. ^ "Album reviews: Plan B, Peace, Gaz Coombes, Leon Bridges, Frank Turner, Eleanor Friedberger". Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  21. ^ "Frank Turner - Be More Kind". Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  22. ^ Punknews.org. "Frank Turner - Be More Kind". www.punknews.org. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  23. ^ "Album Review: Frank Turner - Be More Kind". Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  24. ^ "Frank Turner - Be More Kind - Albums - musicOMH". 30 April 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  25. ^ "Frank Turner - Be More Kind • chorus.fm". 8 May 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  26. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Frank Turner – Be More Kind" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  27. ^ "Frank Turner Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Frank Turner – Be More Kind" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  29. ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 11 May 2018". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  30. ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  31. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Frank Turner – Be More Kind". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  33. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  34. ^ "Frank Turner Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
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