Ad Frank & the Fast Easy Women
Your Secrets Are Mine Now
(ArchEnemy)
His music is catchy and clever, but from the sound of it, Ad Frank would make a lousy boyfriend—almost every track on Ad Frank & the Fast Easy Women's new album is a case against love, from the mournful "Bones and Ashes," with its crooning refrain "my love is a lie," to the whining, pining "Timing is Everything," in which Frank compares himself to a train wreck. Frank's quivering misery channels Belle & Sebastian, while the heavy bass and electric guitar form a steady rock beat. The electro-pop single "Winterthru" will make you dance after "The Vampire Who Opted for Death" has made you consider sticking your head in an oven. There are some fun quips, such as the vampire's final words: "And I love you, but not generously or nicely so I'd rather die alone than make you like me." Ad Frank might actually be a vampire. At least he has a sense of humor. —Amy Littlefield
The National Convention
The Sexy Sound of The National Convention
(Sweatervest)
A long list of Valley players joined forces with Easthampton's Eric Poulin to create this four-song EP (including J.J. O'Connell, Anne Pinkerton, Mark Schwaber, Jose Ayerve and more). The National Convention's first disc was an unusual effort, a sort of newly created artifact of a bygone era, a pop record shining with glittery '70s production values. This more modest effort still offers plenty of that kind of polish. The first track, "the saddest boy in town," is a near-flawless piece of pop driven by aching vocals, a melody that elegantly ensnares the unwary, and unintrusive but spot-on accompaniment. It's also the least explicitly retro track. The other songs float along with a dreamy old-school sensibility, and the whole is pleasing, although the bar is set so high with the first tune that the others never equal its just-right old/new passion. —James Heflin
Orchid Ensemble
Road to Kashgar
(independent)
The ancient Silk Road, with its legacy of cultural exchange, provides the inspiration for Orchid Ensemble's Road to Kashgar, a masterful blend of traditional Chinese music with Indian, Persian and Ashkenazi influences. The melodies soar, dive, contract and expand, taking the listener on a playful journey. The band is an unlikely trio, composed of Lan Tung, who learned the erhu (a two-stringed fiddle) in Taiwan, Mei Han, trained in China on the zheng (Chinese zither), and Canadian percussionist Jonathan Bernard, who calibrates his marimba and drums to complement the delicate twang of the other instruments. The album is a seamless blend of varied sounds, at times light and quiet like drops of water, at other times upbeat and intense. Catch them at the Elms College Library Theatre in Chicopee on Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. —Amy Littlefield
