Frestonia (album)

Frestonia
Studio album by Aztec Camera
Released	6 November 1995[1]
Recorded	April–August 1995
Length	48:33
Label	Reprise[2]
Producer	Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley[3]
Aztec Camera chronology
Dreamland (1993) Frestonia (1995) The Best of Aztec Camera (1999)

Frestonia is the sixth and final studio album by the Scottish band Aztec Camera, released in 1995.^[4][5] Roddy Frame's subsequent releases would be under his own name. The title of the album refers to the community of Frestonia, in the Notting Hill district of London.

Frestonia was the lowest-charting Aztec Camera album in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 100 and at number 187 on the Australian ARIA Charts.^[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Alternative Rock	7/10[8]
Robert Christgau	[9]
New Straits Times	[10]
Martin C. Strong	5/10[11]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music	[12]
Wall of Sound	80/100[13]

The Independent determined that "apart from one or two highlights ... it's pretty dull fare, with desultory, predictable arrangements doing their best to avoid trampling over the lyrics."^[14] The Record deemed the album "a repulsive bit of narcissism that can't even make a claim for tragic portent; instead, it just sounds like the work of a poser."^[15] Author Dave Thompson wrote in his book Alternative Rock (2000) that Frame comes across as "bruised, battered, and a bit disillusioned by time, but he's still a hopeless romantic at heart." He added that the album "perfectly captures that state as the vividly emotional lyrics and delivery take centrestage and the evocative melodies complete the perfect tableaus."^[8]

In 2021, Pitchfork wrote: "Less musically adventurous than its predecessor, Aztec’s 1995 album Frestonia is strongest in its softest moments, trading the sonic ambition of Dreamland for a classic approach to solo songwriting."^[16]

Track listing

All tracks written by Roddy Frame.

1. "Rainy Season" 5:41
2. "Sun" 4:28
3. "Crazy" 5:19
4. "On the Avenue" 3:43
5. "Imperfectly" 4:22
6. "Debutante" 7:10
7. "Beautiful Girl" 4:50
8. "Phenomenal World" 4:09
9. "Method of Love" 4:23
10. "Sunset" 4:21

Personnel

• Roddy Frame – guitar, vocals
• Yolanda Charles – bass, background vocals
• Mark Edwards – keyboards
• Jeremy Stacey – drums
• Luís Jardim – percussion
• Claudia Fontaine – background vocals
• Audrey Riley, Chris Tombling, Leo Payne, Sue Dench – strings

See also

• The North Star – Frame's next release after the end of Aztec Camera

References

1. "Ad Focus" (PDF). Music Week. 4 November 1995. p. 30. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
2. Wener, Ben (13 December 1995). "Aztec Camera trains a murky lense on world". Cue. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 6.
3. Thompson, Dave (12 May 2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879306076 – via Google Books.
4. "Aztec Camera Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
5. "Aztec Camera". Trouser Press. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
6. "Aztec Camera ARIA chart history (albums), received from ARIA in May 2024". ARIA. Retrieved 5 July 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
7. AllMusic Review
8. Thompson 2000, p. 165
9. "Robert Christgau: CG: Aztec Camera". www.robertchristgau.com.
10. Murthi, R.S. (15 December 1995). "AZTEC CAMERA – Frestonia". Arts. New Straits Times. p. 5.
11. Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Canongate U.S. p. 68.
12. Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music. MUZE. p. 32.
13. Graff, Gary. "Review: Frestonia". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 14 April 2001. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
14. Gill, Andy (10 November 1995). "Aztec Camera Frestonia". POP MUSIC ALBUMS. The Independent. p. 14.
15. Weiler, Derek (28 December 1995). "Aztec Camera Frestonia". The Record. p. E4.
16. "Aztec Camera: Backwards and Forwards (The WEA Recordings 1984-1995)". Pitchfork.