Photo: Iran Ramirez
On her newest single, Jane Frank lays it out, well, frankly. The San Francisco indie artist revels in musical influences ranging in eras as far back as 1950s rock’n’roll to more contemporary alternative facets. That much is evident from the start—if Weezer wrote a smash hit called ‘Buddy Holly’, Jane Frank inhabits a space in her sound that blends the former’s knack for captivating with breezy matter-of-factness with the actual Buddy Holly’s pure sense of confounding cool. Her catalog is searingly autobiographical, and therein is where she wedges into her own complete sense of fiery, unapologetic individualism.
Or, as Frank herself puts it to us, “‘Practical Jackets’ is about when you’re heartbroken, but you’re still in love, and you’re so mad, but since you’re in love, you want to hate the person, but you can’t, so you just act shallow and petty instead.” At first glance, it’s a complex statement, but it sure can be broken down into a synthesized analysis that most anyone can sympathize with. Musically, Frank blossoms into a 70s-style straight-ahead rocker. She owns the song and its message with unwavering confidence and inveterate wit, and it might well be one of this writer’s favorite tunes of the year for it.
‘Practical Jackets’ is from off of Jane Frank’s forthcoming album, The Big Squeeze, set to be released on 14 December.
Words by: Jonathan Frahm (@jfrahm_)