Frankel
Chatterbox EP
( Three Ring Records ) 2006

Radio announcer: 'This next song is going out to Emily, from your main squeeze of seven years, Donovan. Here's "Pass Out", by Frankel'.

If you're on the receiving end of this song as a dedication - hell, it could even be on a mix tape - prepare yourself for a heavy-handed audible slap. Opening with "Geez your a chatterbox. Don't you ever stop / to come up for air?", this dedication carries on to further put the one it has been written towards on a rusted chopping block. "It's only gotten worse since you got a purse and now you carry baggage" - I mean, damn! And then there's that 'just above a hush' delivery in which Michael Orendy (as Frankel) presents this anthem, as if he dusted his poem with powdered sugar to buffer the gravity of the situation. Above and below this highly memorable anthem is a genius blend of acoustic guitar, dial tones and sonic spirals (he's a wiz with the accordion too) - like much of his Chatterbox EP .

If these 6 songs (plus a bonus tacked on - the medicated closer) ever get their Chuck Taylors in the door at one of your larger print outlets, I'd wager the lot that an honest 'buzz' would put Michael Orendy on the tips of many a tongue. Performed and produced entirely by Michael, thinking Joseph Arthur met midway with n.Lannon (Chemical Friends, alone, gets the Elliott Smith relationship I stray from using with Frankel out of fear I might scare you off - but it's legit) would serve well in finding listeners who would appreciate these songs. "Method Actor" infuses a glorious family reunion of piano, sampled "percussion" (possibly the taps on the side of an accordion case) and Orendy's vocals layered in a warmth of multi-Frankels. It's with the closer (pre-hidden track) "All Satellites" that Orendy cuts all ground connections and allows the EP to soar into the night sky. A tower of electricity slowly builds from the minimal organ opening as Michael's lyrics bridge the transition for the onlookers.

For a label who already houses Tim Howard's superb Soltero outings, Frankel is very much at home with our new generation of singer / songwriter / multi-amazing musicians. Highly recommended.

k :: (01.11.06)