Album Review: Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes - 'Sticky'
Here’s a record that will be stuck in your head for days, months, maybe years to come. Whether you’re a cobra queen or just a bin fox, it’s time to get Sticky.
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes have returned stronger, louder and bolder than ever with their latest record Sticky. Following on from the success of 2019’s End of Suffering, and being influenced by the recent global pandemic, it’s a distinctive new direction for the band that shows what 18 months of frustration and anxiety can do to musicians. Especially in the collective creative mindset of Frank Carter and Dean Richardson.
There is a unique sense of pride in oneself in this record; proven in the first two singles, ‘My Town’ and ‘Go Get a Tattoo’, featuring IDLES’ Joe Talbot and new sensation Lynks respectively. The former track is a spin on hometown pride, as it highlights from Carter that “my town, it looks like yours” while using the least pleasing imagery such as animal waste on the streets, vandalism of public property, and drug paraphernalia found out in the open. Some could argue it’s an accurate account of the streets of London where the band resides, but there is this sense of home in the song. Becoming aware of your town’s problems is a good thing to do, but it doesn’t take away that it’s your town and your home and it shouldn’t be any other way.
The record features some fascinating guest vocalists. As well as Talbot and Lynks, rising rockstar Cassyette and Primal Scream legend Bobby Gillespie also feature and turn the album into a team effort. This is where the Rattlesnakes diverged from previous eras, as they were always an act to perform on their own with no helping hands, no duetting voices. But maybe the pandemic got them thinking of the importance of sticking together as one in the music industry, an industry that Carter himself was fighting for during the time of staying at home and touring wasn’t allowed. These guests help make some of the strongest tracks on the album, but the gold medal goes to ‘Original Sin’ with Gillespie.
‘Original Sin’ closes Sticky in a beautiful manner; one that aligns well with how the Rattlesnakes put their music together. End of Suffering closes with the slow and sweet hidden track ‘Bleed’; this is Sticky’s ‘Bleed’ and it’s a masterpiece blend of Gillespie and Carter’s visions.
As someone who was eager to get back into music, performing, and everything in between, Carter is giving the world a potent mix of determination and pride, anticipation and anger.
It’s time to get wild, get crazy, and of course, get sticky.
Words by Jo Cosgrove