Frank Turner - No Man's Land

Frank Turner is a bit of a conundrum. I can't rightly recall how I first heard of Mr. Turner, but I ended up with copies of England Keep My Bones (2011) and the two albums that followed, Tape Deck Heart (2013) and Positive Songs for Negative People (2015). The only song I can remember is the all too short "Eulogy" that opens his 2011 release. I do remember them as being pretty decent, even if they didn't stick with me. I obviously liked him enough to pick up more of his stuff.

That's the problem (one of many) with getting old, the neural pathways required to make those associative connections with time place and music are well worn and the ability to carve fresh tracks alongside the long establish ruts is pretty much an improbable task.

However, my ability to appreciate music in the moment has not diminished. I'm as quick to pass to judgment as I ever was. If anything I'm more self aware and will often take the time to intentionally listen, really listen to hear what is going on. I’ve realized that I’ve traded long-term retention for the enjoyment of discovery, and it feels like a pretty fair exchange. Of course there is a danger that in finding the good in everything that there is no room for actual critical appreciation. If everything is good then nothing is good ... which can be an odd no man's land where everything tastes like sticky rice. Which isn't the case, I can discern hit from shit. There's being the devil's advocate and being an idiot with a tin ear.  

Which sort of brings me back on task. Here we have Frank Turner's 2019 release No Man's Land. When I found this one in the clearance bin I was pretty stoked. For all my prior jibber jabber about a lack of musical object permanence I liked Frank Turner. I may not have been able to recite chapter and verse but he was on the positive side of the ledger. Finding the album for cheap (there was a crease in the top left corner that you can see when the light is right) was just a bonus ... another Marco Polo Platter to add to my pile.

No Man's Land is an ambitious record that contains 13 tracks that are narratively centred on a female character. For those of you (me too) that stream your content you're missing out on the tactile experience those who have the physical media. The gatefold is really cool and the liner notes and lyrics are excellent. Even the record is pretty to look at ... even if the pressing I have is less than perfect in places. The last couple of songs on the first side have a bit of pressing rash that pops and clicks like an old time radio. Which only serves to remind me why I was so quick to jump on CDs when they came out. Each song is centred on a real person, or in the case of Rescue Annie a thing. Some are more embellished than others, and many of the subjects were new to me.

Tracklist and subject

1. "Jinny Bingham's Ghost" subject: Jinny Bingham
2. "Sister Rosetta" subject: Sister Rosetta Tharpe
3. "I Believed You William Blake" subject: Catherine Blake
4. "Nica" subject: Pannonica de Koenigswarter
5. "A Perfect Wife" subject: Nannie Doss
6. "Silent Key" subject: Christa McAuliffe
7. "Eye of the Day" subject: Mata Hari
8. "The Death of Dora Hand" subject: Dora Hand
9. "The Graveyard of the Outcast Dead" subject: Cross Bones post medieval burial ground
10. "The Lioness" subject: Huda Sha'arawi
11. "The Hymn of Kassiani" subject: Kassia
12. "Rescue Annie" subject: Rescue Anne CPR doll
13. "Rosemary Jane" subject: Frank's mum

There are a few standouts for me, the from the rollicking opening track "Jinny Bingham's Ghost"which was good fun even if it's a standard cookie cutter folk pop song that sounds like a lot of other songs. It is followed by "Sister Rosetta" that was more pop than blues, but hey whatever. I also really liked "Lioness" that was a bit like old Coldplay or new Mumford. Then there was the haunting "Silent Key" about the Challenger disaster in '86. I actually found myself looking up more about it to see if there really was a radio transmission.

Like I said, the album is ambitious, and I've listened to No Man's Land many times now. It's enjoyable and even if more often than not it's musically predictable. I like Frank's voice. He has a lane and he wisely doesn't try and veer too far away from what he's good at. His emphasis is on the subject matter and he doesn't throw many curve balls to distract from the stories being told.

On No Man's Land Frank surrounded himself with a cast of fine players, who happened to be female. Frank put the burden of making the hard calls on producer Catherine Marks who also mixed the record. The role of producer can be a thankless one, they receive praise beyond their role or they're on the receiving end of fan vitriol for decisions made they feel were out of sync with the artist. This doesn't even touch on the impact the mix has on the entire experience. 

I didn't have any complaints.

However, others did, my favourite was written by. Roisin O’Connor who brought a shotgun for her review in The Independent (Friday 16 August 2019 12:25 EDT) and more or less (more) let Frank have both barrels.

• BLAM: Frank Turner review, "No Man's Land: More a case of extreme mansplaining"
• BLAM: "... the instrumentation is plodding and occasionally appropriative, while elsewhere there is unfortunate evidence of Turner’s limited vocal range."

Take that Frank. 

I can't really speak to, or defend the charge of mansplaining, but I would hazard a guess most of us are not all that familiar with many of the subjects Frank is writing about. I would offer as third hand defence that the work in question was created and curated by the women who helped create the appropriative music in question. Still this isn't about me calling into question a reviewers review. She has an opinion, and honestly I share some of the sentiments regarding the music, I tend to be a tad more forgiving. I do like the word appropriative though, that is a right humdinger, thank you Roisin.

With all that,I'm asking myself, "Is this a perfect record?"

Nah. 

"Is it a great record?"

Nah. 

It can feel a bit long at times, and somewhat plodding (dare I say appropriative?) depending on my mood. However, I think it's a good record, sometimes really good with more than enough enjoyable tracks to make this worthwhile. Heck I even learned a thing or two which I thought was a nifty trick, and some of the songs were really poignant to me. It's still too early to call the ball on whether or not this will stick with me after I put it away ... however I can say with certainty I really enjoyed discovering this one.