Here We Stand

1	My Friend John 3:02
2	A Heady Tale 4:52
3	Shameless 3:56
4	Look out Sunshine! 3:53
5	Stragglers Moon 4:31
6	Mistress Mabel 4:27
7	Babydoll 4:42
8	Tell Me a Lie 3:58
9	Acid Jazz Singer 4:21
10	Lupe Brown 5:26
11	Milk and Money 4:43

Barnes & Noble

Scots pub rockers The Fratellis are the kind of band easily taken for granted in a world stacked end-to-end with tuneful guitar acts -- but boy would you miss out if they were gone. While the manic melodicism of their breakout single "Flathead" (notably deployed in an iPod commercial) is somewhat more subdued on Here We Stand -- the quotient of la-la-lahs and da-da-dahs has dropped off some -- it's hard to argue with the blast of cleverly rearranged British rock history herein. Nods to glam (the excellent "Shameless"), the Kinks, and The Faces reckon with exuberant guitar riffs out of Green Day's tool box, while the clever lyrics might give Alex Turner some pause. Close study of Brit-rock seems to have informed The Fratellis's attitude as well; they're happy to play it humble -- The Faces to the Arctic Monkeys' or the Libertines' Stones, or perhaps even the Bay City Rollers to Slade. Either way, Here We Stand is a fine draught of session rock. Hip-huggers not included. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

On Costello Music, the Fratellis sounded like a ragtag gang, churning out pint-hoisting anthems with anything goes charm and creativity. On their follow-up Here We Stand, it feels like they worked on this music, stepping out of the pub to smooth the edges off their songs and clean up their sound. This doesn't always play to the band's strengths -- where their debut was effortless fun, Here We Stand is more effortful and less memorable. Nothing here clicks like "Chelsea Dagger" or "Flathead" did; even though the album's polish doesn't diminish the Fratellis' energy, bright, lively songs such as "Look Out Sunshine" and the '60s throwback "Babydoll" are, strangely, not as catchy as they could be. However, the Fratellis' charm triumphs more than a few times on Here We Stand, especially when the band loosens up a little. "Shameless" lives up to its name, with jaunty riffs and cheeky lyrics ("Is it me, or are they getting younger every night?"); "Tell Me a Lie"'s stomping glam punk choruses rival the White Stripes, and the single "Mistress Mabel" delivers on the pop potential the Fratellis try for elsewhere. A few songs use Here We Stand's ambition and slickness to the band's advantage: the surging, minor-key "My Friend John" turns the band's irrepressible energy moody, and "A Heady Tale" boasts shifting tempos, layered percussion, and bouncy, Elton John-esque pianos that are one of the strongest ties to the '70s rock obsession the band wore proudly throughout Costello Music. Meanwhile, "Acid Jazz Singer" shows that the Fratellis are developing as witty lyricists with surprisingly fleshed-out narratives. Like a lot of second albums that aren't exactly a slump, Here We Stand is more accomplished than dynamic, but there are still quite a few enjoyable moments here. Heather Phares