YMMV / Frank Turner

• Awesome Music:
  • "Long Live the Queen".
  • "The Road".
  • "I Still Believe".
  • "If Ever I Stray".
  • "Four Simple Words."
  • "Plain Sailing Weather."
  • "Sand in the Gears", all politics aside.
  • "Make America Great Again" is an uplifting protest song with a genuine affection for America, even as it makes a plea to be better and kinder.
• Broken Base: The song "Sand in the Gears" proved divisive as soon as it launched:
  • While the response to it has largely been positive, there has been a vocal backlash from supporters of Donald Trump (and to a lesser extent Mike Pence) since the song takes multiple potshots at them, which some have taken as digs at their expense as well, starting more arguments in turn; for what it's worth, Frank has said the song is meant more as a jab at Trump and Pence, not their supporters.
  • Whether or not "Sand in the Gears" lives up to Frank's other political protest songs is also a hotly debated subject, although like many of his later works it's still viewed as good in its own right.
• Contested Sequel: Positive Songs for Negative People, while generally viewed as a good album, is considered one of Turner's weaker works, especially since it followed Tape Deck Heart, widely agreed to be one of his best.
• Friendly Fandoms: With Billy Bragg, Beans on Toast, Billy the Kidd, Jon Snodgrass, Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo and many others.
• Funny Moments: Most of his collaborations with Jon Snodgrass, most notably "Mo'zquitos" and "Shut the Chicken".
• Growing the Beard: Sleep is for the Week was reviewed well, but Love, Ire and Song had even better reviews and helped Frank gain an audience. Frank himself has admitted he's much happier with the latter than the former.
• Misaimed Fandom: An interview where Frank self-identified as right wing (a diagnosis he later regretted and said was ill informed) led to him getting one hundred death threats a day.
  • Somewhere along the line, the writers at Conservapedia decided that "Glory Hallelujah" was intended as a refutation of atheists, apparently based on the line "there never was no God", and placed it on their list of "Great Conservative Rock Songs". Unfortunately they don't seem to have listened to the rest of the song (much less the rest of Frank's discography), which makes it apparent that the singer thinks God is a lie, religion is toxic and atheism is freedom.
• More Popular Spin-Off: Originally lead singer and a guitarist of Million Dead, Frank has since gone on to become more famous as a solo artist.
• Signature Song: "Recovery", if it weren't for iTunes' Single of the Week promotion.
• Tear Jerker:
  • "Jet Lag" and "I Really Don't Care What You Did On You Gap Year".
  • "Long Live The Queen", about his friend Lexie's death after battling cancer, but it's also about smiling through the tears.
    "So stop looking so damn depressed, and sing with all our hearts, long live the Queen!"
  • A lot of tracks on Tape Deck Heart, which was written after the end of a long-term relationship.
  • "Song for Josh", about a friend of Frank's who committed suicide. The track, unlike every other one on Positive Songs for Negative People, is recorded live in front of an audience, specifically where Frank's friend worked, and you can audibly hear his voice break throughout parts of the song. Whenever the song is played at gigs, there's seldom a dry eye in the house.
  • "Sand in the Gears" starts this way, although the second half is more bittersweet than plain bitter.
• Tough Act to Follow: Tape Deck Heart is widely considered to be one of Frank's best albums. The following album, Positive Songs for Negative People, struggled to reach the same heights, although it's generally seen as good in its own right.