Review Summary: Angular and fast-paced, Frodus delivers a solid recording
Frodus, a very fascinating band. Known for their energetic performances and strange lyricism, these guys made some very compelling music during their heyday. Their 1996 effort,
F-Letter, was a sudden shift in sound when compared to their humorous and spastic early recordings such as
Molotov Cocktail Party and
Fireflies, and marked the beginning of their musical evolution that would eventually result in their abrasive and densely layered later albums like
Conglomerate International and
And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea.
F-Letter is perhaps the best place to start for anyone interested in the band, for it takes less time to digest when compared to the rest of their discography. The guitars squeal and hiss like a dying snake, and Shelby Cinca’s vocals consist of throat burning yelps. Musically, this album is like a big, fuzzy mess, and that’s a good thing. Tracks like “Cha-Chi” showcases the band’s hardcore roots well, the instrumentation is disorderly and the vocals are nothing short of insane. Opener track “The Feelgood Song Of The Year” grabs your attention with a catchy and scratchy guitar riff only to quickly explode in a bombardment of rough vocals, messy drumming, and crunchy guitars.
However, there are some major downsides to this record. For starters, the mixing for the album feels a little off. The bass sounds a little low in the mix when compared to everything else, leaving the album a little hollow-sounding from time to time. The instrumentation, while still enjoyable, isn’t quite as impressive when compared to some of their other releases.
With all things said, however,
F-Letter is still very much an entertaining record that shows off the band’s punk influences and the musical direction they started to delve into by that point in time. The overall instrumentation and production could of been better, but for what it’s worth it’s still very much a fun listen.
