Tape Deck Heart

Tape Deck Heart
Studio album by Frank Turner
Released 22 April 2013
Recorded 2012
Genre Folk rock, folk punk, punk rock
Length 50:20
Label Xtra Mile, Polydor, Interscope
Producer Rich Costey
Frank Turner chronology

The Second Three Years
(2011)		 Tape Deck Heart
(2013)		 Losing Days (2013)
Singles from Tape Deck Heart
  1. "Recovery"
    Released: 4 March 2013
  2. "The Way I Tend To Be"
    Released: 6 June 2013
  3. "Losing Days"
    Released: 1 September 2013
  4. "Oh Brother"
    Released: 9 October 2013
  5. "Polaroid Picture"
    Released: 3 February 2014
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 78/100[1]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
The A.V. Club B[3]
Electric Banana [4]
The Guardian [5]
Hellhound Music [6]
NME 8/10[7]
PopMatters 8/10[8]
Punk News [9]
Sputnikmusic [10]
The Telegraph [11]
This Is Fake DIY 5/10[12]
Dance Yrself Clean 8/10[13]
Under The Gun Review 9/10[14]

Tape Deck Heart is the fifth studio album by English singer-songwriter Frank Turner, released on 22 April 2013 on Xtra Mile in the UK, and on Polydor / Interscope worldwide. Produced by Rich Costey, the album was preceded by the single, "Recovery."

Described as a "break-up album," Tape Deck Heart was written and recorded following the collapse of a long-term romantic relationship. Turner stated: "There’s a lot of stuff on this record about loss and failure in relationships, about what happens when something that was supposed to be timeless runs out of time."[15]

Tape Deck Heart has been given a Parental Advisory label due to the profanity heard on tracks "Plain Sailing Weather" and "Good & Gone". The title of the album is taken from a lyric in the song "Tell Tale Signs".

Background and recording

After extensive touring in support of Turner's fourth studio album, England Keep My Bones (2011) - which included an appearance during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony and a headline show at Wembley Arena - Turner and his backing band, The Sleeping Souls, flew to Los Angeles, in October 2012, to enter the studio with producer Rich Costey, seeking a "big, warm expansive rock sound."[16] Regarding the band's experience in Los Angeles, Turner stated, "It’s such a cliché – bands reach a certain level of success, go to L.A. to record an album. I was nervous about recording outside the UK because my music sounds English and I like that, but in fact, it didn’t make any difference. We stayed at the Holiday Inn next door and didn’t finish until dark every day, so I scarcely saw the sun shine."[17]

Regarding Costey's production, Turner noted, "I will say that I think the production is a massive step up for me. [...] The man is a fucking genius."[15] Nicknamed, "Sauron, the all seeing eye," by Turner and his bandmates, Costey often made the band perform multiple takes in the studio, with Turner stating: "He brings an almost autistic eye for detail. He made me do 42 vocal takes at one point, with the encouragement ‘I know there’s something in there'."[18]

Writing and composition

Explaining the album's title, Turner stated, "A 'Tape Deck Heart' is someone who has a love of music above anything else. I don’t miss cassettes, but I am of an age - like many of us - whose music listening life was defined by Walkmen and C90 tapes."[18]

Comparing the album's lyrical and thematic content to his previous album, England Keep My Bones (2011), Turner noted: "This record isn't about England at all — I did that last time round. This album is about self-examination, running through your own faults, about change, and about ending. Something like that."[19]

Regarding the track, "Four Simple Words", Turner stated, "I think that song is something of a nod towards Queen, stylistically. But it’s not something that markedly runs through the record as such, I don’t think."[15] Turner elaborated, "I tell people it's about dancing but it's really a song about punk rock and the pleasantly surprising revelation that, at 31, my ethics and approach to music are the same as when I was 15."[16]

Artwork

The artwork for the album was done by SWFL tattoo artist Heather Ann Law.

Release

On 25 December 2012, Turner released a free download of "Four Simple Words" on his website, backed with a demo version of the song, "Cowboy Chords". The opening track and first single, "Recovery", premiered on Radio 1, on 4 March 2013 and was released on iTunes the following day.

The deluxe edition of the album contains six additional tracks, with Turner noting, "Track listing an album is a fine art, and usually a pretty agonising process. I’m glad I've had the opportunity to do the extended version for this one – all these songs belong together. That said, I think an album is a piece of art in its own right and can be too long, so it’s worth making the twelve-track definitive version. Choosing what makes it and what doesn’t is agonising, though."[15]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Frank Turner, except where noted. 

No. Title Length
1. "Recovery"   3:28
2. "Losing Days"   3:32
3. "The Way I Tend To Be"   3:41
4. "Plain Sailing Weather" (Frank Turner, Matt Nasir) 4:01
5. "Good & Gone"   3:50
6. "Tell Tale Signs"   4:12
7. "Four Simple Words"   4:56
8. "Polaroid Picture"   3:43
9. "The Fisher King Blues"   5:00
10. "Anymore"   3:09
11. "Oh Brother" (Turner, Nasir) 4:18
12. "Broken Piano"   5:30

Editions

[20]

Singles

"Four Simple Words" was released as a free download, along with a demo version of "Cowboy Chords" through Xtra Miles website on Christmas Day 2012. The first single from the album was "Recovery", which was released on 5 March 2013 and the music video was released the same day. "The Way I Tend To Be" was later released on the 17th June and peaked at number 33 in the HOT100UK singles chart. "Losing days" was the third single to be released.

Personnel

Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls

Additional musicians

Recording personnel

Artwork

References

  1. ↑ "Tape Deck Heart Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  2. ↑ Christopher Monger, James. "Tape Deck Heart - Frank Turner". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  3. ↑ Zaleski, Annie (2013-04-23). "Album Review". Avclub.com. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  4. ↑ Hiblen, Simon. "Tape Deck Heart - Frank Turner". Electric Banana. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  5. ↑ Simpson, Dave (2013-04-18). "Album Review". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  6. ↑ Crane, Matt (2013-04-17). "Album Review: Frank Turner – Tape Deck Heart". Hellhoundmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  7. ↑ Cooper, Leonie (2013-04-19). "NME Album Review". Nme.com. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  8. ↑ Horowitz, Steven (2013-04-22). "Frank Turner: Tape Deck Heart". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  9. ↑ "Album Review". Punknews.org. 2013-04-23. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  10. ↑ Freeman, Channing (2013-04-23). "Frank Turner Review". Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  11. ↑ McCormick, Neil (2013-04-19). "Album Review". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  12. ↑ Doyle, Tom. "Album Review". thisisfakediy.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  13. ↑ Rodger, James Daniel. "Frank Turner – Tape Deck Heart". danceyrselfclean.com. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  14. ↑ "REVIEW: Frank Turner-'Tape Deck Heart'". Under the Gun Review. April 23, 2013.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Rodger, James Daniel. "Frank Turner - Interview". danceyrselfclean.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Paine, Andre. "It's a punk-folk thing: Frank Turner Interview". standard.co.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  17. ↑ "Frank Turner Reveals His Tape Deck Heart". maytherockbewithyou.com/. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Interview: Frank Turner on Albatrosses, Relief, Springsteen and C90 Cassettes". something-gold-something-new.com/. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  19. ↑ "Frank Turner interview". asialifemagazine.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  20. ↑ Turner, Frank. "‘TAPE DECK HEART’ – NEW ALBUM + TICKET PRE-SALE". frank-turner.com. Retrieved 16 January 2013.