It Comes in Waves

Album Review

Bay Area band Frankie's Dream, led by former Mad Brothers member Frank Ellis, is very much in the eclectic roots rock tradition of local heroes such as the Grateful Dead, mixing up a variety of American and Caribbean musical styles in their rock & roll. Lead-off track "Bayou Green," for example, has a second-line New Orleans flavor that recalls the Neville Brothers and Little Feat, while the title song (one of four written by guitarist Steve Keating), which follows, has a lilting island rhythm. Much of the time, however, the band hews to a familiar country-folk-rock style, with Ellis' or Keating's vocals upfront. Both songwriters are interested in teaching gentle lessons of peace and equanimity, notably in Keating's philosophical "It Comes in Waves" and Ellis' "Velocity of Love." In "Shining Through," Ellis describes a homeless man who uses a contribution not to buy whiskey, but to start straightening out his life, while "Unfortunate Fame" is a cautionary tale about the dubious virtues of making it in the music business, only to fall victim to drugs and find your story playing over and over again on Behind the Music. Perhaps the album's best song is "Tiny Fingers," in which the narrator reflects back on his life and looks toward a spiritual reward. That may or may not be a dream, but Frankie's Dream is a band devoted to hopeful music played in a warm, attractive style.