The Fratellis are an honest band who make honest music. The lyrics are direct and real, and their established sound has always been founded upon old-fashioned rock and roll with room to create and carve out distinction from that point.

Very few bands can reach the success of The Fratellis with that particular sound, especially in the current indie scene. New technology and changing trends have erased the classic sound of rock from the forefront, but the Fratellis have remained relevant and their releases are always met with excitement.

Their latest release, Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied, is no different. It provides the aforementioned sound that the fans have come to love from The Fratellis, but the separate tracks have distinction.

The first five songs on the album follow a pattern of “loud-quiet-loud”, only in individual tracks rather than the parts of the songs themselves. It’s a nice mix, and it allows each song to be appreciated due to the framing around it.

After the initial five songs, it then continues to follow a good rhythm and sticks to an identifiable cohesion. “Dogtown” and “Rosanna” have enough similarity to connect each other, before being broken up by “Slow”, an aptly-named slow ballad that sees guitars dropped for pianos and strings.

Next, “Getting Surreal”, “Too Much Wine” and “Down the Road and Back… Again…” follow the same trend as “Dogtown”, “Rosanna” and “Slow”, in which two classic-Fratellis songs are followed by a slower song to ease the pace and keep the rhythm and pattern of the album consistent.

Finally, the album ends with “Medusa in Chains”, a slow and catchy concluding piece that ends the album on a very enjoyable note. The album, in its entirety, is very cohesive and the sensible. Smart transitions from one song to another makes it a great album to listen to start-to-finish.

The two standouts personally were “Imposters (Little by Little)” and “Thief”, the second and fifth track respectively. “Imposters” is softer than some of the similar songs on the album, but it maintains the pace of its brethren. The song quickly prompted thoughts of traveling, and it could be a necessary addition for anyone trying to create a playlist for a road trip or something of the like.

“Thief” is also quick paced, but doesn’t contain the softness of “Imposters”. It’s a fun and exciting track, and the chorus is epic and uplifting. It’s sounds like your ‘typical’ Fratellis song, and that’s a good thing.

Possibly the most essential Fratellis song on the album would  be “Baby Don’t You Lie to Me!”. Like “Thief”, it’s a ‘typical’ track from The Fratellis but it’s raunchy guitar and classic, direct lyrics are loved all the same, especially the line “Life for you could be so easy/If you’d only shut your mouth.” Exactly what you wish to hear when the Fratellis bang out a rocky, loud anthem about relationship issues.

Overall, this album should appeal to the die-hard Fratellis fans as well as anyone who can enjoy a good rock album. It mixes their classic sound with a few creative tweaks and additions to create a very solid album that, on first listen at least, should be listened from the beginning to the end.