Frosted's debut album, "Cold," may seem to be another attempt by a band to break into the pop / punk genre of modern music, but Frosted definitely offers its listeners a bit more than the average band. Most notable is Frosted's blockbuster lineup. Namely, Jane Wiedlin (vocals, guitar), once a member of the infamous Go-Go's. She is remembered as the "sassy punk" of the now defunct '80s band. Adding to this, Wiedlin's band-mates Brian Waters (guitar) and Lance Porter (drums), have been scraped up from the remnants of respected L.A. bands like the countdowns and Ex-Idols.
"Cold" is a 13-track album, composed of well-thought-out lyrics and music that sounds like a mix between Elastica, the Breeders and the Ramones, if you can imagine that. This is partly due to the co-production of Marc Waterman (Elastica, Menswear, Tuscadero) who is known for his experimental microphone techniques. Wiedlin and Waters were greatly influenced by Waterman, and eventually bought a $10 keyboard and plastic megaphones on a Toys R Us excursion, for the production of this album.
The first song on "Cold," "Dis-integrated," is about Wiedlin's experiences in the music "biz." She believes that opinions in the industry are largely based on the past, and not on what one is currently doing. This idea comes through in full effect when she sings, "I look back on my life, I feel like a whore, and look what being nice got me." I guess she still carries around the "I was once a Go-Go" stigma.
The song "Empty & Meaningless" is the big hit off this album. It's the song on the radio that you love, but have no idea what artist performs it. This track seems to start in the middle of the song and was originally supposed to have an extended 40-minute-long ending.
Most of the other songs reflect upon Wiedlin's philosophy that, "Life's hard, deal with it." She used this idea, combined with an immense amount of energy to pull off a decent album.
Best of all, if you were a huge Go-Go's fan back in the days, you will definitely not be disappointed. When asked about the biggest difference between Frosted and the all-girl Go-Go's, Wiedlin answered "Penises."
- Brian M. Kemp
After their sweep of the Aussie Music Awards, one has to be a little curious about what exactly You Am I has to offer. With this Australian trio's second album, "Hi Fi Way," You Am I proves itself to be infinitely worth talking about. The 14 songs on the album are each melodic and rich, making them some of the most interesting and compelling tunes that you'll hear all year. Produced by Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) and John Auer of The Posies (another truly worthwhile, little heard of sensation), "Hi Fi Way" had an unusual debut at the No. 1 spot on the Australian charts.
You Am I actually sounds suspiciously similar to The Posies. Sweet, catchy tunes that are just right for a mellow afternoon of kicking back. None of the loud, heavy grunge rock can be found here; instead, one might expect that You Am I would sound even better just playing acoustic.
"She Digs Her," one of the standout songs on the album, will leave you humming along for days with lyrics reminiscent of Paul Westerburg's. "Jewels and Bullets" manages to be a little rockier than the rest, though overall, You Am I's knack for melody still shines through. "Purple Sneakers" is a cute high-schoolish song with lyrics like, "I took a personality pill and something red to swill ... ." Who could get through classes any other way?
Fortunately, these songs aren't the only highlights on this perky pop album. Tim Rogers' voice could pull anybody out of a week-long funk with its rough but endearing quality, and the rest of the band prove that having a six-piece band isn't a vital part of making good music.
In any case, the times when an album appears that is consistently excellent from song to song, are few and far between. "Hi Fi Way" is one of the few that starts rocking and never stops. In fact, the only thing worth changing about the album is the length of the songs. Any true fan would never be willing to settle for merely three minutes of excellence.
So, to those of you who feel that the music world needs to get past this grunge thing already and come out with something novel and new, you might just want to have this album before You Am I become the pop sensation in the U.S., that they already are in their own country. You definitely won't be sorry and you can still be the first person on your block to know who they are.
- Lise Harwin
How ironic that a fairly mainstreamable album would be called "Yeah, Me Too." With 10 short songs (the album clocks in at 21 minutes and 23 seconds) of an almost pop-punk sort, this Gaunt album would be climbing the charts if it was on a major label.
It still has its own peculiarities, excluding it from the mundane. "Hit the Ground" ends with the guitars becoming drown-muted, a flash of white sound and a final musical sting. "Richard Generation" has some nearly Blues Explosion vocals, "Give Up" has nothing at all to do with punk and the guitars on the album tend towards the interesting rather than the cliche. Definitely preferable to Green Day.
- Ted Watts