Album Review: The Fratellis - We Need Medicine

The Fratellis' first album in five years makes its presence known by staggering out of a wood-cabin bar at midnight, one foot in a honky-tonked leather boot and the other in a mini-Marshall amp. It's as clumsy (Rock N Roll Will Break Your Heart) as it is pitifully charming (The Whiskey Saga, the closest We Need Medicine gets to the crackling magic of Chelsea Dagger). Half-pissed with your best mates, it sounds like one of the best rock albums of the year. But listen with a clear head and blues-rock clichés will tire from overuse.