Frank (2014) is a film, starring Michael Fassbender, although for most of the film you will not realise this as he spends the majority of the story wearing a Frank Sidebottom head. To celebrate the release the films soundtrack has been released, unsurprisingly also called Frank.

The best way to describe the overall impression of the music is that it is the hell spawned offspring of Frank Zappa and Daniel Johnston, with a sprinkling of Captain Beefheart containing both the lyrical naiveties and willingness to play with musical form. This makes it either a work of genius or just plain awful, depending on your personal perspective. As someone who likes both Zappa and Johnson, I rather enjoyed its quirkiness.

Not all of the tracks are designed to be deliberate whistling challenges and the soundtrack does contain some more traditionally structured songs, from the sweet 'I’m Just Me', performed by Jordan Aurora Aquino, which I have played a lot, to Fassbender singing 'Tufts'. All this is juxtaposed with either pared down sounds or those which sail close to the edge of discordant. This is one of the real pleasures of the soundtrack as you never know what you’re going to get next.

The music is performed by the film's fictional band, The Soronprfbs, with mostly either Michael Fassbender or Domhnall Gleeson. The name of the band is an in-joke as it was designed to be deliberately unpronounceable. The disc contains thirty-one tracks in all, which may sound like a lot, but in truth there are a lot of tracks which hover around the two minute mark and six which do not even make it to the one minute mark.

Fassbender has an interesting voice, made more so as each of the songs are performed wearing a fake papier-mâché head, giving most of the tracks he sings on a strange sort of echo effect. Fassbender's version of ‘I Love You All’ has been released as a single.

It’s an eclectic mix of music which grew on me pretty quickly. With most soundtracks you listen, review and then delete, however I have a feeling the soundtrack to Frank may spend some quite considerable time on my phone.

Track listing:

01 - 'Jon's Crap Songs' - Domhnall Gleeson (2:43)
02 - 'Ginger Crouton' - Michael Fassbender, The Soronprfbs and Stephen Rennicks (3:42)
03 - 'Welcome To Vetno' - Stephen Rennicks (0:45)
04 - 'Lay An Egg' - The Soronprfbs and Stephen Rennicks (2:27)
05 - 'Frank's Dawn Chorus' - Stephen Rennicks (1:22)
06 - 'Jon Shares His Songs' - Domhnall Gleeson (1:09)
07 - 'Lone Standing Tuft' - Michael Fassbender and Stephen Rennicks (1:46)
08 - 'Work Begins In Earnest' - Stephen Rennicks (1:44)
09 - 'Creaky Door' - The Soronprfbs (6:25)
10 - 'Be Still (Don's Song)' - Scoot McNairy, Darragh O'Kelly and Stephen Rennicks (1:25)
11 - 'Idiot Shriek' - Stephen Rennicks (0:43)
12 - 'The Holidaymakers' - Stephen Rennicks and Evanna Lyons (0:58)
13 - 'Again' - The Soronprfbs (0:39)
14 - 'Jon's Song Changed By Frank And Clara' - Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson and Stephen Rennicks (1:22)
15 - 'Secure The Galactic Perimeter' - Michael Fassbender, The Soronprfbs and Stephen Rennicks (5:02)
16 - 'Broken' - Michael Fassbender, The Soronprfbs and Stephen Rennicks (2:08)
17 - 'Viking Funeral' - Orchestra, Karl Ronan, Stephen Rennicks (2:09)
18 - 'Just Like ‘Paris Texas'' - Stephen Rennicks (2:18)
19 - 'SXSW' - Stephen Rennicks and Hugh Drumm (0:57)
20 - 'I'm Just Me' - Jordyn Aurora Aquino and Stephen Rennicks (2:00)
21 - 'Frank's Most Likeable Song... Ever' - Michael Fassbender and Stephen Rennicks (0:33)
22 - 'The Music's Shit' - Stephen Rennicks (0:33)
23 - '#findfrank' - Stephen Rennicks (1:15)
24 - 'Lighthouse Keeper' - Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Soronprfbs and Stephen Rennicks (1:49)
25 - 'I Love You All' - Michael Fassbender, The Soronprfbs and Stephen Rennicks (2:54)
26. - 'I Love You All (Credits)' - Michael Fassbender, Carla Azar and Stephen Rennicks (3:20)
27 - 'All Broken (Credits)' - Michael Fassbender and Darragh O'Kelly (2:07)
28 - 'Tuft (Credits)' - Stephen Rennicks and Lenny Abrahamson (2:09)
29 - 'Frank's Cacophony' - Michael Fassbender and Stephen Rennicks (1:20)
30 - 'Stop Sign' - Michael Fassbender and Stephen Rennicks (2:24)
31 - 'I Love You All (Radio Mix)' - Michael Fassbender, Carla Azar and Stephen Rennicks (3:52)

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Charles Packer