What took so long? When you consider that Frank Bango’s “Fugitive Girls” has been on my list of greatest albums of all time, his latest “The Sweet Songs of Decay” is a long overdue summer classic. Often compared to Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe, Bango has earned plenty of fans over the years and has played with artists from Frank Black to Nancy Sinatra. The album is a series of finely textured, and gentle musing on mortality, starting with the ballad “You Always Begin By Saying Goodbye” just Frank and a lone guitar that recalls Big Star’s Chris Bell. Then the shimmering mid-tempo “Summerdress” has those swirling chords and harmonies that give you goose bumps. “Angela Eagleton” is another standout, lead by acoustic strumming and a few keyboards. The song cycle of a “children’s album for adults” begins with the ballad ““Bunny in a Bunny Suit” where Frank is “pretending to be myself again” – it then goes upbeat on “I Saw The Size Of The World” it’s a relaxing, laid-back melody with a kid friendly repeating chorus (“And the rain came down”). The sadness of the some songs like “She’ll Miss the Spider” recall Ray Davies english countryside. And the darker overtones here cannot be overlooked – the moral Bango leaves us with is that everything must be embraced and enjoyed to it’s fullest while we are here. An impressive album from a brilliant artist.
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Listen to “I Saw The Size Of the World”
Listen to “Worm was Wood”