Primarily influenced by the recent post-folk scene raised from the ashes of Red Red Meat, they released a demo on Zahr Records: All My Senses Are Senseless Today (2004) was a mixture of slow pace folk-rock songs, often arranged with a dark Slint-style attitude, that created some excitement among Italian press. Perishable records distributed the record through their online shop.
By that same year the core of the group comprised the trio of Iocca, Riccardi and Vittoria Burattini on drums. Franklin Delanos second effort, Like A Smoking Gun In Front Of Me (2005), marked a slight change in the groups sound. While remaining steeped in the dark slow cored style of their previous album, the songs took influencial benefits from a series of new musical inputs, from psychedelia to Alt-country.
Produced at Clava Studios in Chicago by Brian Deck (former Red Red Meat and Califone member and producer for Modest Mouse, Ugly Casanova, Iron&Wine), the album includes musical contributions by Califone members Ben Massarella, Tim Rutili, and Jim Becker. Like A Smoking Gun saw the band moving on Madcap Collective (Italy) and File 13 Records (Chicago, IL). It was promoted and distributed in the United States and garnered plaudits from the local music press. Most italian critics judged it to be among the year best records. Shortly after the release, Franklin Delano embarked on their first U.S. tour that helped them win fans and also spread the name all over the United States. Soon after, the group suffered an internal shake-up with Burattini replaced by Lucio Sagone at drums, and Marcello Petruzzi at bass.
At the end of 2005 the line-up included Vittorio Demarin at violin, piano, organ and Michele Sarti at percussions and glockenspiel. In 2006 the band signed with Italys Ghost Records, flew to Chicago where they recorded their third album, Come Home with Brian Deck, between Engine and Soma music studios, and toured the U.S. a second time. The album, Come Home, has been released in October. The band has been on tour since then, with a freshly new line-up, including the comeback of Vittoria, and new entry Nicola Manzan at violin and electronics, to join Paolo, Marcella and Marcello.
At the end of 2007 the project cease its activity. Paolo and Marcella have just started a new project joining two midwestern multi-instrumentalists, Davy DelaFuente and Oren Wagner.
Matter of Time
Franklin Delano Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Feigning the sleep
Black's the best colour
To hide everything
Her eyes were stalling
On his dreamy man's figure
Trying to remember
But memory fails
Hard times for lovers
Your smiles are fake
Pain creeps through your eyes
No matter your say
She's going to catch it
And she'll run away
Reality sucks sometimes
There's nothing to say
Stolen shadows on a black ground
Slave of a vision, freed by a sound
It was just matter of time
It might be matter of time
The lyrics to Franklin Delano's song "Matter of Time" touch on the pain and difficulty that can come with relationships, particularly during hard times. The first verse describes a moment where one person is pretending to be asleep while the other stares at them, trying to recall memories of their love. The use of the color black suggests a desire to conceal feelings or truths. The chorus acknowledges that sometimes in relationships, things can become tough and emotions become fake - a sense of painful numbness falling upon lovers. The lyrics hint that when things go from bad to worse in a relationship, there may be a critical point at which it becomes inevitable that it will end.
The second verse applies metaphors to explore the theme of feeling trapped in a situation you must face with no choice, even when it is uncomfortable. The "stolen shadows" may allude to difficult decisions taken in secret or unreconciled parts of ourselves we may try to ignore. The final line, "It might be matter of time," suggests a sense of acceptance that in the end, nothing lasts forever, and we should try to appreciate the good moments we have had.
Line by Line Meaning
Keeping his eyes shut
He keeps his eyes shut, avoiding his problems.
Feigning the sleep
He pretends to sleep, not wanting to face reality.
Black's the best colour
Black symbolizes darkness and is great at hiding things that one does not want to be seen.
To hide everything
He uses black to conceal everything he is going through.
Her eyes were stalling
She hesitated to approach him.
On his dreamy man's figure
She admired him, but he was unrealistic and hard to reach.
Trying to remember
She attempted to remember the good times.
But memory fails
Her recollections fade, and she cannot remember them.
Hard times for lovers
It is a difficult time for people in love.
Your smiles are fake
They try to put on a good face, but it is not genuine.
Pain creeps through your eyes
You try to hide it, but the suffering manifests itself in your eyes.
No matter your say
Regardless of what you say, it is still evident that there is pain.
She's going to catch it
She will recognize the pain as well.
And she'll run away
She will abandon the relationship because it has become too complex.
Reality sucks sometimes
It is difficult to deal with the harsh truth of the present.
There's nothing to say
There is nothing they can do to fix the problem.
Stolen shadows on a black ground
The shadows on the dark ground represent the unresolved issues hidden within.
Slave of a vision, freed by a sound
They have an image of what they want, but it is only when they realize the truth that they break free from the illusion.
It was just matter of time
It was inevitable that the reality would emerge and their problems would have to be faced.
It might be matter of time
There is a possibility that they will work through their troubles and overcome the difficulties.
Contributed by Ava L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.