Francis and the Lights For Days

When I first picked up the album It'll Be Better from Francis & The Lights to review for my radio station, I gave it the "I'm not sure we should keep this forever" label. There was a lot of hype surrounding Francis Farewell Starlite (fantastic name, by the way) -- comparisons to soul greats from the 60s as well as endorsements by Kanye West and Drake. All I heard, though, was 80s soft rock.

After picking up the album again months later, I've started to appreciate the subtlety of Francis' music. Starlite certainly has a vocal presence; he's a true frontman who works the crowd, but he's really not trying to sound like Otis Redding. There is something earnest in his voice though, even if at times it can sound kind of campy and cheesey.

And it was just that 80s pop-star sound that began reminding me of my own somewhat guilty enjoyment of Genesis and Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer." Couple that with the crisply produced minimalist instrumentation, it all started to sound pretty good.

So give the record a few listens if you can and try to detach yourself from your past prejudices toward Phil Collins. After all, the 80s were pretty kick ass, right?