Frankie Delmane - Street Penetration

Well I believe we've just seen the ultimate in songwriting quality control! I've written a great deal about Frankie Delmane over the years with many rave reviews for his bands the Teenage Frames and The Crazy Squeeze. You may also recall that he tackled an ambitious solo endeavor throughout 2015: releasing a solo track/music video for every day of that year. Well he ended up using those songs as the basis for his new album Street Penetration. 365 songs were paired down to the 18 tracks that appear on the album. Can you imagine having material prepared for an album and literally less than 5% of it makes the cut? Well, you sure would know that you were putting your best songs forward! I was blown away already that Frankie had the creative powers to write 365 songs in a year's time. But I can barely imagine how exhausting and labor intensive it must have been for all parties involved to go through all of those tracks and compile this album. Yet here we are. Frankie has delivered us a nifty holiday gift!

Some of you might think of Frankie Delmane as primarily a power pop/punk rock guy. But his interests in music cross every derivative of rock and roll and beyond. He's one of my generation's most insightful analysts of music and popular culture (his recent social media crusade in defense of The Irishman ought to be a book in its own right). I must admit I've been intrigued for a long time to find out what he could do with an album of his own. His 365 songs in 365 days project found him working in a variety of musical styles and further defining his unique voice as an artist. It all comes together here with an album that allows Frankie to channel his inner David Bowie/Lou Reed/Ian Hunter. This album has a little bit of everything: proto-punk, synth-pop, hard rock, garage rock, minimalist pop, and quite a few exceptional ballads. But overall Street Penetration has the raw, sleazy feel of a classic glam rock record. "This Sick Beat" is like Marc Bolan riding the Sunset Strip. "Time Is Gonna Strangle You" summons the Velvets via the Stones. The sexy "Street Penetration" is the centerpiece of the album, literally and figuratively. And in keeping with the spirit of the aforementioned greats, it's the ballads ("Here With You Tonight") and rawest emotional cuts ("When the Silence Breaks The Sound") that surely shine the brightest.

Having admired Frankie Delmane as a musician and writer for many years, I'm tickled pink that he's finally made his great solo album. If you only know him from the Teenage Frames and The Crazy Squeeze, you may be pleasantly surprised to hear him fulfill a musical vision completely independent of those bands. Others will not be surprised at all - just happy that these songs have finally hit the street (no pun intended). This is likely an album that will come to define Frankie Delmane as an artist. It's his master work, and a wonderful display of the talent and personality that make him the most interesting man in West Hollywood. And I love the lo-fi/DIY nature of these recordings. When you can write songs this good, you don't need to hide behind fancy production. Street Penetration is a brilliant solo effort that I hope will be followed by many more albums from the superlegend Frankie Delmane!



-L.R.

https://frankiedelmane.bandcamp.com/album/street-penetration 
https://www.facebook.com/Frankiedyi/ 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxoEPAblNiN8PE3MzCBHfxg