Frausdots
Couture, Couture, Couture (CD)
 I was well into listening to the new Frausdots CD when I read that the main guy in the band (Brent Rademaker) is the bass player in Beachwood Sparks. While side/solo projects are not at all rare, this revelation kind of struck me as odd. Whereas Beachwood Sparks are the reverb drenched, country boys of summer, the sounds coming from my stereo was more akin to, say, the mopey, scowling, retro fututrism of a band like Interpol. With the swirly guitar effects and synth backdrops, I could tell Brent was very self consciously trying to evoke the second comparison. A lot of artists seem to be annoyed by constant references to their old bands, (he has also been in the Tyde and Further) but once I got this context in my head, I noticed something interesting about the songs on Frausdot’s record. They aren’t just claustrophobic sketches of modern detachment for detachment’s sake. They are good! To me these songs are the kind of songs that could fit into several different genres because they are solidly written. I’m not trying to downplay the 80’s new wave influence. In fact, I think it is nice for a guy who has played shoegaze, brit-twang, and downright wussy country music to impose boundaries on his own solo work. The songs have a certain continuity that comes from being produced with a consistent aesthetic and sound, but these are not just nostalgic retreads. To be Fair, Brent isn’t alone. Along with a truck load of friends lending drums and other touches to the album, Brent has a co-songwriter named Michelle Loiselle who’s previous credits (don’t hold it against her) seem to consist only of a stint as a back-up singer for Guns and Roses.
The first song on the album, “Dead Wrong” opens with that stark, desperate sound you’d expect from the NEW new wave. It’s just a vocal and a driving drum. The mood is heightened with a little bit of blade runner keyboard. This song typifies the mix of catchy and dark that defined the 80’s for a lot of artists. The second song is just a really fun, danceable track who’s lyrics contains the album title. For me, this song is the beginning of the end of the idea that this album is going to be cold and stark. It’s up beat and memorable. Just a good rock/pop song. It’s easy to see why their bio mentions the Cure and New Order in the same breath.
Later in the album, “Contact” is a dark song with a galloping beat and heavily effected vocal. The isolation is there, but I can’t help being reminded of another genre bucking artist: Johnny Cash. The same loneliness and dread that informed “Ghost Riders in the Sky” seems to be tapped into here. Like Johnny, Frausdots use their chosen sound simply as colors on a palate without painting the same picture over and over.
“TheMan Who Dreaded Sundown” is another exploration of the country-through-the-synth-pop-colored-glasses concept from it’s spaghetti western title to it’s bleak, death valley lyrics. This is not to say it is a poorly disguised country song. For me it lives just as comfortably in a skinny tie as it does a ten gallon hat. The last song, “Tomorrow Sky” shows us that, as well as the man in black, this band has also been listening to it’s share of U2.
Almost any good song should transcend Genres. Some songwriters can try their best to be musically diverse and still end up repeating themselves or puppeting their peers. Othesr, like our friends mister Rademaker and his partner Michelle Loiselle can erect all the stylistic borders they want and still come up with something more than the sum of it’s parts.
- review by AARON (11.19.04)
Sub Pop Records
2514 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121
206-441-8441
info@subpop.com
www.frausdots.com/
|
25 Random Reviews
12.22.03 Treeball
9.19.03 Michael Zapruder
4.1.04 Chad King
6.14.03 Popgun Recordings
5.26.05 Fishstick
9.11.04 The Envy Corps
3.16.05 The Rep
8.26.04 Casino Ashtrays
6.11.04 Lettuce Prey
2.1.05 Jason Voss
5.4.03 Iron And Wine
1.15.05 Swedish Death Polka
10.24.05 Rosie Thomas
5.3.05 Ken Michaels
2.6.05 The Postal Service
7.7.03 The Like Young
10.22.04 Kevin Huelbig, Jr.
3.17.04 Muk
8.8.03 Dusty Rhodes and the River Band
4.9.03 Birdy NumNum
10.10.03 The Goslings
3.31.03 Josh Zero
9.22.04 Postal Blue
11.15.03 M.D.U.B
9.1.04 Paradigm9
|
