Cover Photo:
Personal archives, courtesy of Tobias Frank.
Tobias Frank is an English singer-songwriter currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee with his American wife, Amelia.
Following his lifelong passion for music and performing, Tobias Frank has recently released his debut EP, This Town. The heartfelt record tells us all about Frank’s long-distance love story.
Frank was previously a member of a band that flew to Nashville to promote their music. And it was exactly here that he met his future wife.
The title track of his solo EP, ‘This Town’, narrates Tobias Frank and Amelia’s international love and the struggles their long-distance relationship had to go through. The track has got a melancholic vibe—Frank sings, “Loving you is easy / It’s the leaving you that I mind” and “Oh God, how I hate this town.”
The echoing harmonies give this already beautiful song a tender and vulnerable edge. If you’re in a long-distance relationship yourself, prepare to shed a few tears to ‘This Town’.
However, spoiler alert, . . . Frank’s love story has got a happy ending.
After battling the distance, the legalities and the odds stacked against them, the couple got married on a sunny day in September—the day that inspired the EP’s second track, ‘September Fall’.
This song has more of an upbeat country feel with a catchy repeating guitar riff on the backing track and lyrics “I gained it all in just one September fall / Ain’t got nothing but you on my mind.” Listening to this, you just can’t help but smile and tap your foot to Frank’s musical confession of being so in love that nothing else matters.
The final track off the EP, ‘Here I Stand, Here I Am’, returns us to the melancholy of the title track but with a self-development angle. The melody offers more delicate guitar melodies. The lyricism, however, has got more than enough power to carry the track on its own.
What is extremely powerful about this song is the ending; rather than cutting off when he is finished singing, we can hear Tobias Frank putting his guitar down and walking away. This sombre moment leaves the listener reflecting on their love story—Frank has just poured his heart out to his audience in a very meaningful way.
This six-track record heavily features some aspects of country as well as modern blues music. Although each song is different, the vibe of the EP alludes to the likes of soulful singers: Jack Johnson, Frank Sinatra and Paolo Nutini.
You can stream This Town on Spotify now.
Hannah Robinson is a student journalist studying in Sheffield; you can follow her on Twitter here or check out her website here.
ECHOWAVE MAGAZINE 