Good old Frank Turner, he knows how to celebrate Christmas and no mistake. So all gather round and thank Mr Turner for this single, which he will deliver on Christmas Day. What a lovely gift eh? Beat the usual socks and pants combo, the sprouts, and the walnut you don't want any day.
Having been part of Million Dead, Turner seems to have turned something of a corner. No longer rocking in a hardcore stylee, Vital Signs finds him in contemplative mood. The strum of the acoustic guitar and his voice is all he really needs as he heads off into the wilderness with vibrato in his voice and a knapsack of folk and country CDs on his shoulder.
It's certainly a change in direction, but it's a most welcome one. It may sound melancholy on first listen, but Vital Signs is a celebration of life and living it to the full. Which at this time of year is probably about all the message we can handle.
B-side Heartless Bastard Motherfucker is, as you might expect, filled with big and clever swearing. It's still treading a slightly countrified path, but there's a slight funky swing going on in the piano lines. If we're honest Frank sounds a little bit polite singing the words "I'm a heartless bastard motherfucker" and it's hard to believe he's anything of the sort. After all he gives us great Christmas presents like this single.
