The title of a compilation album is usually as good a guide as any to a band's commercial standing - successful acts proudly declare it their Greatest Hits while others have to make do with the more defiant Best Of. The Frank and Walters are firmly in the latter camp, but then, given what the Cork trio have had to go through, it's a minor miracle that they've made it this far at all. Saddled with an unfortunate - and deeply misleading - wacky image on their emergence in 1993, the Franks' initial brush with fame turned out to be alarmingly brief, and their increasingly downbeat albums have been met with widespread indifference ever since. Best to see this 13-track retrospective, then, as a belated vindication and a moral victory rolled into one. From the child-like naivety of 'After All' and 'Walter's Trip' to the elegant maturity of 'New York' and 'Colours', these are quality, heartfelt indie-pop songs which deserve the widespread hearing they never got at their time of release. True to form, this most resilient of bands have declared their determination to carry on for another couple of albums at least, in search of that elusive hit. No-one would deserve it more.
