Remember the days of yore, when rock and roll was fun? Days when it was okay to throw in some keyboards, tambourines, harmonies, and hand-clapping but still be considered a rock band. Days when rock stars didn't have to be in a revival ska band to wear dress shirts and ties. Days where the word pop could unabashedly be interchanged with the word rock, without carrying some stigma along with it. And bands always had a name that started with the word "The." The Knack, The Police, The Cars, The Clash...
The Frantics attempt to follow suit, in their own way, combining some feel-good attitude and straight-up rock and roll with pounding percussion, sassy vocals, easy on the ears harmonies, guitars, and occasional synthesizers. Starting out with the jangly guitars, and nearly pop-punk vocals of "Not With a Bang," there is a likeable quality that permeates the album. The song writing is definitely hooky, and focused. Fans of All Star United or Plankeye might take note of The Frantics, as they plunge a syringe straight into the same vein.
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #83Reviewed by A Girl Called GordonI was first taken with this album, when the cover didn't show the band's faces. They showed their shirts and ties, but the faces were blurred. It's almost always a selling point when the label wants to put the face on the CD . . . as if that would be the only thing that would sell the product. Not with The Frantics. It's time for some good pop. This band reminds me slightly of the power pop of…The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Michial FarmerWhat else should I have expected but a Beatles rip-off, with an album title like Meet the Frantics? Although the first song opens with a guitar riff that sounds suspiciously like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2, The Frantics retreat quickly into familiar territory already mapped by the Fab Four and then by Oasis in the mid-90s. There's a little bit more of a punk edge to this album than either of…The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Eric DaamsFast-paced, short songs; raving musicianship; intoxicating hooks; exhilarating freshness. All these things are suggested by the name of Organic Records' latest addition. The Frantics? Their debut, entitled Meet the Frantics, presents a junction of classic pop, rock and surf music, with a retro sensibility, and a coating of commercialism--a frantic combination. For a band with such a seemingly…Similar sounding releases
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