Ad Frank and The Fast Easy Women

Your Secrets Are Mine Now

(Archenemy)

Like some of the best glam-rock musicians, vocalist/keyboardist Ad Frank has a persona onstage that – while it may or may not be based on his real personality – seems to become someone larger than life through his songs.

On Your Secrets Are Mine Now, as on much of his earlier work, this character is a passionate, cynical artist who sees everything with a dry humor, who’s given “the best of what was left to a stripper in Providence” (“Man on Fire”), who feels every emotion except self-pity, and makes the saddest things beautiful. No matter if we like him or not, the fact that he seems happy in his tormented, destined-to-be-lonely state makes us want to learn his philosophy.

The lyrics speak so strongly for themselves, describing them seems to only water them down: “If we take our lives, then we can fuck in hell” (“The Cuddle”); “The saddest word invented is ‘potential’” (“Man on Fire”); and the way he lovingly addresses his enemies as “sweet imbeciles,” as in “Your life is better than mine, sweet imbeciles” (“As My Limo Spins Out of Control”). In similar melodramatic flare, “The Vampire Who Opted for Death” tells the story of a dying vampire who has spent his life building an empire from the lives he has wrecked, as 100 campfires burn outside to mark those lives. Although he is offered another throat, he declines; even if you’re not into vampires, it’s difficult not to relate at some level.

Immediately after we leave this gothic scene, the poppiest, danciest song on the album begins (“Winterthru”), with its new wave melody and ear-friendly rhymes that Frank’s glam accent perfectly croons out against catchy ‘80s-style synths. Through it all, the influences of Brian Ferry, David Bowie, and Nick Cave can be heard, and Frank’s passion for the style is just as authentic and sincere as his forbears, with his own personal bite.