Thursday, June 17, 2021

Full Length Review: The Fraoch Collective "Ill" (Independent) by Corban Skipwith

Band: The Fraoch Collective
Location: Long Island, New York
Country: USA
Genre: Alternative rock
Full Length: Ill
Format: Digital
Label: Independent
Release date: June 5, 2021
What’s going on everyone!
I’m back yet again with not only another album review but another Bandcamp review as it should come as no surprise to anyone how fond I’ve become of them lately! So without any more delay let’s get into “Ill” by The Fraoch Collective.
So this is the latest by The Fraoch Collective a group I’ve never heard of until this album and going into this based on the album cover and the name I had no idea what I was to expect as normally I tend to not ignore as much as keeping myself ‘unspoiled’ by the genre tags/labels given to the artists/bands on the band camp description so I go in completely blind and my thoughts?
This is one hell of a funky time!
So the way I would describe this album is a combination of acoustic grunge and 80’s classic Heavy Metal as this album flows like the perfect combination of the band Garbage meets Pat Benatar.
This album has this amazing acoustic vibe to it with the drums, guitar, and bass all being played with this minimalist/raw quality to it as if you were to take the aesthetic of grunge and strip it all back where it’s slightly above an acoustic album but definitely nothing as glamorous as a fully mastered studio album in its presentations.
The album’s highlight is the lead singer Heather Dawson who brings this amazing punk/rebellious vibe in her singing and vocal performances! I hear more Pat Benatar in her as an influence and as mentioned above the band ‘Garbage’ but you could also take away artists like ‘Fiona Apple’ as credible influences as she shares the similarities in energy, personality, and conviction!
Over the 8 tracks, I feel these guys do a fantastic job in engaging the listener without any worry of filler or boring moments to be pointed out, it’s the perfect album to listen to if you just want a rock album to groove to without having to worry about it being too heavy or too complicated for a simple walk or drive home!
Definitely give this a try as all the elements from the production to the vocals and the instrumentation all work in amazing harmony and it goes to show that there’s nothing wrong with a stripped-back album that knows how to do the basics perfectly! –Corban Skipwith

Lineup:
Heather Dawson: Vocals
Gregg Gavitt: Guitar
Marc Del Cielo: Bass, drums, backing vocals

Track list:
1. I Dig A Walrus
2. Van Nuys
3. The Bitter Sun
4. Angel of the Boulevard
5. Waiting
6. Sans Heart and Home Pt. One
7. Sans Heart and Home Pt. Two
8. Ill


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