{"id":12378,"date":"2015-01-19T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-19T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-franz-nicolay-to-us-the-beautiful\/"},"modified":"2018-03-21T22:16:19","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T22:16:19","slug":"album-review-franz-nicolay-to-us-the-beautiful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-franz-nicolay-to-us-the-beautiful\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Franz Nicolay – To Us, The Beautiful"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Still probably best known as the erstwhile red wine quaffing, moustachioed, keyboard-mashing cheerleader in The Hold Steady, Franz Nicolay<\/strong> has actually enjoyed a rather successful solo career since his departure. <\/p>\n

\u2018To Us, The Beautiful\u2019<\/em> is Nicolay\u2019s<\/strong> second Xtra Mile<\/strong> record after 2012\u2019s \u2018Do The Struggle\u2019<\/em> and his fourth in total. To say he\u2019s come a long way since solo debut \u2018Major General\u2019<\/em>, released in 2008, would be a massive understatement. <\/p>\n

Now an assured vocalist and lyricist, \u2018To Us, The Beautiful\u2019<\/em> is filled with huge torch songs, heartfelt acoustic numbers and buzzing three-minute pop songs, all of which he covers off with consummate ease. Vocally, there are moments where he reminds me of a less frantic Hutch Harris (The Thermals) \u2013 but it ensures his vocal delivery remains interesting throughout. He\u2019s also developed hugely when it comes to arranging songs. \u2018Shallow Water\u2019<\/em>, for example, is a stark, stripped back rootsy affair, but the duelling boy\/girl vocals and plucked banjo line ensures it stands up well alongside the more bombastic efforts on the record. <\/p>\n

Bearing Torches: The Rottingdean Session by Franz Nicolay & The Cut Ups<\/a><\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s in these blustering moments that \u2018To Us, The Beautiful\u2019<\/em> really shines. The title track is a grin-inducing punk rock stomp brimming with \u2018Whoah Whoah\u2019<\/em> backing vocals and a monolithic chorus, while \u2018Wrestlers\u2019<\/em>, another straight-up rock song, is a galloping lesson in storytelling. It\u2019s perhaps no surprise these punk-edged blasts stand out considering Leftover Crack\u2019s Ara Babajian and former Against Me! bassist Andrew Seward were on hand in the studio, but regardless, they very much feel like a comfy pair of slippers, and Nicolay<\/strong> wears them splendidly. <\/p>\n

Elsewhere, \u2018The Pilot Inside\u2019<\/em> is a gorgeous indie-pop song, again beautifully arranged and brilliantly infectious, while \u2018Your Body\u2019<\/em> opens like it was culled from The Hold Steady\u2019s \u2018Separation Sunday\u2019<\/em> sessions. Sounding like a knowing nod to \u2018Multitude of Casualties\u2019<\/em> (even down to the reference of Boulder), it\u2019s a jaunty little number that\u2019s brimming with heart and soul and encapsulates the appeal of Nicolay<\/strong> in four all-too-brief minutes. <\/p>\n

There are a couple of miss-steps \u2013 both \u2018According to Plan\u2019<\/em> and \u2018Bring Me A Mirror\u2019<\/em> are perhaps too gentle to stand up to the more rocking moments \u2013 but they are no less charming than anything else on offer. And to be honest, when you can pen a closer as rousing and fulfilling as the brilliant \u2018Porta Fenestella\u2019<\/em>, you should be allowed to indulge your sensitive side. <\/p>\n

4\/5<\/p>\n

‘To Us The Beautiful’<\/em> by Franz Nicolay<\/strong> is out now on Xtra Mile<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Franz Nicolay<\/strong> links:
\nFacebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a>||Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Rob Mair (@BobNightMair<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Still probably best known as the erstwhile red wine quaffing, moustachioed, keyboard-mashing cheerleader in The Hold Steady, Franz Nicolay has actually enjoyed a rather successful solo career since his departure. \u2018To Us, The Beautiful\u2019 is Nicolay\u2019s second Xtra Mile record after 2012\u2019s \u2018Do The Struggle\u2019 and his fourth in total. To say he\u2019s come a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":13233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,8181],"tags":[5879,7065,15022,7064,112],"class_list":["post-12378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","category-post","tag-album-reviews","tag-franz-nicolay","tag-rob-mair","tag-to-us-the-beautiful","tag-xtra-mile-recordings"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlbum Review: Franz Nicolay - To Us, The Beautiful - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Still probably best known as the erstwhile red wine quaffing, moustachioed, keyboard-mashing cheerleader in The Hold Steady, Franz Nicolay has actually\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Album Review: Franz Nicolay - 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