Dubbed "the poet laureate of the lovelorn", Ad Frank follows a long
tradition of brooding, hyper-literate curmudgeons that includes Leonard
Cohen, Lloyd Cole and Roddy Frame. His wry, self-deprecating lyrics tell
familiar tales of a life and loves that did not go as planned. Stopping
just short of morose, Ad offsets his darker side with wry musings like,
"Is it too late to be good, or is the answer obvious? The best of what
was left went to a stripper in Providence."
Together with his band, 70s-influenced powerhouse The Fast Easy Women, Ad
and company deliver a sound that evokes late glam and early new wave. Now
in his third decade as a songwriter and performer, Ad has shared bills
with his idol, John Cale, jazz legend Mose Allison, Vic Chestnutt,
American Music Club, and The Bravery. His music has been featured on "One
Life to Live" and NPR’s Marketplace. Ad has performed live and on record
with the Dresden Dolls, the Willard Grant Conspiracy, and Martin Carr of
the Boo Radleys.
A critic’s favorite, his 2005 album, The World’s Best Ex-Boyfriend,
"bursts with love-lorn desperation" according to the Boston Globe. The
Weekly Dig declared its flagship anthem, "Lucky," to be "an introspective
crooner, a ballad just this side of stadium-sized, just dripping with
heart and brimming with clever, poignant turns of phrase."
Ad’s fifth and latest album, "Your Secrets Are Mine Now," was completed in
late 2008 and is due out on Archenemy Records (Freezepop, The Elevator
Drops) on November 3. This album examines the lifecycle of longing, love,
betrayal and loss, from the hopeful leading rally "Open up the Patio
(Pretty Girls Are Back in Style)" to the mournful closer, "Timing Is
Everything."
They say ...
"Quite simply, it's one of the best glam pop and rock blends I've heard in
recent years. Hedwig, Bowie, or T. Rex, just a dash of 80's pop, some sweet
female vocals thrown into the meld, and with the wit of Tom
Waits ... this one is a winner. "
- 411mania.com
"Frank’s epically jaded crooning ... dissects his psyche, gliding over some of
the cleverest couplets this side of Morrissey or the Magnetic Fields’
Stephin Merritt."
- Jonathan Perry, The Boston Globe
"Incoherent, face-in-the-toilet heartbreak has a new hero in Ad Frank."
-
Rochester City Weekly, Saby Reyes-Kilkarni
"Spans the gamut of glam, new wave, and alt-pop. This disc shimmies through
a plethora of styles with ease. It's punchy, moving, and on occasion it
will make you dance."
- NIN, Bite Me
"Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes bitter, but always razor-sharp and witty"
- Life in a Bungalo
"A carefully cultivated career of girl trouble ... a) survey of schisms,
fuck-ups, awkward silence, indecencies and all sorts of other afflictions
that get in the way of love proceeding perfectly…But it's not all nasty"
- Michael Brodeur, Weekly Dig
"Ad Frank’s loquacious croon evokes early David Bowie or late Jarvis
Cocker, with maybe a smidgen of Bryan Ferry’s "I'm world-weary but I look
fabulous" cynicism."
- Stuff at Night
"I thought I was going to hate this, but I liked what I heard."
- Ska, Punk and Other Junk
"What Frank does well is write incredibly catchy songs about getting his
heart kicked around Union Square like a Hacky Sack ... one of the most emotive
voices in pop."
- Boston Globe Calendar
"A tight trip through songs that evoke both asleep-at-the-bar loneliness
and cutting wit ... punchy, moving and occasionally danceable."
- Empyre
Lounge