2 posts tagged “eugene francis jr”

Eugene Francis Jnr - Poor Me Eugene Francis Jr Read More Eugene Francis http://weheartmus... The reason why I'm checking out this band, Eugene Francis Juniors, is because there was an annou...

When I say I like folk music it is because, more than anything else, I like lyrics. So when I receive an album labeled folk I have certain expectations. With the exception of Banhart, I don't take kindly to nonsensical mumbo jumbo song writing. My other gripe is this singer-songwriter genre aka bland songs about why you ain't getting regular oral sex or love...mostly about love.

Of course, none of these criticisms can be lodged against Eugene Francis Jr; I just woke up in an armchair surrounded by cheap beer; with the shopping network trying to sell me something that looked like a sex aid but turned out to be a gas powered candle. My eyelids were pretty heavy and the flame wasn't lit. Again, nothing to do with EFJ, who releases his latest album, The Golden Beatle, on 28th April 2008.

The album art is pretty cool, depicting EFJ as a Native American riding on the back of a dog while being hunted by a gang of men and hounds. To explain what is at first glance an absurd piece of art, EFJ has Native American and Eskimo blood and he loves his dog.

The biggest criticism I have against The Golden Beatle is I've heard it all before, a great singing voice and ability to play instruments are no substitute for original content. My favourite song on the album is 'Poor Me', with the lines like 'I favour tigers but I celebrate cowards' followed quickly by 'don't want a world where religion is power'. What can I ; I am a sucker for any hint of atheism in a song. However the best line in this song and the entire album is, '...it's not a story where boy meets a girl, more like a story boy encounters world'. For this line alone I am grateful.

I could relate to 'Mistakes I Have Made', by all accounts a breakup song. While the songs isn't a gritty hard hitting attack on the girl (or guy) who smashed your heart into a thousand pieces before running off with some singer in a second-rate band; it is a pretty decent song about the fear that the mistakes made in one relationship may echo in all future relationships.

The theme of mistakes continues in the next song, 'My Own Pollution'. To me this is a song about the human condition, dealing with the thoughts and feelings that make us all human. It's an optimistic piece, set to a nice electronica tune.

Another track on the album is Kites. I'll admit I looked up the word 'Kites' in google, hoping for a less obvious definition. As an interesting piece of trivia, the name Kites was "applied to the goddesses Isis and Nephthys in the Osirian cult but also represented women who were hired to accompany or greet the coffins of the deceased at funerals (professional mourners)". Disappointingly, this is a song about actual kites or the metaphor of a kite representing the freedoms and failures of life. Strangely, the song then moves on to use a metaphor of a river to represent a similar idea.

All-in-all, Golden Beatle contains exactly what you would expect from this sort of album, the passing references to love, a mention of poetry and some witty lyrics (Or, at least, I think it was wit; my witdar hasn't really worked since I watched the 1997 pirate comedy, Captain Butler). It won't change your life. It won't really teach you anything you didn't know about yourself. It just sounds pretty nice.

On Tour 24 Aug 2007 Proud Gallery - London 25 Aug 2007 The Social - London

The reason why I'm checking out this band, Eugene Francis Juniors, is because there was an announcement that they were on tour with Tegan & Sara (the tour dates are over, by the way). I did have the intention of mentioning them prior to the tour, so I'm making it up by mentioning these next two upcoming dates.

So, I finally, did listen to some of their songs, they sound like alt-experimental-folk.

I checked around to see what others have written about EFJ and there's not a whole lot of information on them. There is a blog that just copy/paste a press release.

So here's some generally information about them:

1. Eugene Francis Juniors are a band consisting of Eugene Francis Jnr and his backing band, the Juniors. They're currently based out of London, England (however, I think he's actually Welsh, and for a time, lived in New York City).

2. They've recently released a double A-Side "Poor Me" backed with "Kites". The video to Poor Me looks interesting, with Francis being dragged on his back while he's singing.

3. They are finalizing on the release of their debut album called The Golden Beatle, which I'm hoping is a reference to the Beatles and not a misspelling of beetle.

PS, It's really too bad that we don't have anyone working for W♥M that lives in London right now, because I could use them to review concerts for us. And let's face it: London constantly have shows! Send me an email if you want to be our London correspondent!

Speaking of shows, I don't mean to steal some of Lara's thunder, but I'm really excited to announce she will be covering The Last Town Chorus (a band that recently opened up for Camera Obscura on the East Coast) in New York. Frankly, I'm tired of seeing only Minneapolis and Newcastle (sorry Ryan!) represented when we do concert reviews. Also, I'm supposed to be published in my local Star Tribune Sunday's paper. No, I wasn't arrested, it's about music.... If I get the clipping, I will scan it for you guys.

[Edit] Apologies, I've had a long week and confused Tegan and Sara with Camera Obscura (it's because I'm working with another artist that is opening up for Camera Obscura).

 August 24, 2007 7:36 AM  vu my♥posts vu@weheartmusic.com myspace.com/eugenefrancisjnr