Review: Frenzee ‘Frenzee’ EP

Frenzee is composed of three siblings, Apollonia, Adonis and Nick who were all born in Melbourne Australia but raised and based on the island of Crete in Greece. Like so many artists during the pandemic, the band found themselves with ample amounts of time to work on material, which in this case turned out to be this, their Self-Titled debut EP. Preceding this EP were three singles, all of which are featured on here.

Unfortunately, I can’t find any information with respect to who designed the cover art, but judging by its style, there can be no mistaking this as anything other than a punk release, it certainly won’t be mistaken for a Tool record anytime soon! There is a darkly satirical suburban approach that you would have found on Black Flag’s album covers, as well as possibly the graphic novels of Daniel Clowes and the Hernandez Brothers.

Abort Mission is a rather tasty opening slice of punk rock ‘n’ roll, such as one might associate with The Rollins Band’s last couple of albums (when he teamed up with Mother Superior) as well as Keith Morris’ work with OFF! Its greasy no-nonsense approach sets you up nicely for the music to follow. The Bandcamp notes that accompany Fire In My Gut state that its ‘a song standing against patriarchy and sexism. Girls to the front’. The latter sentence is of course a reference to Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill’s request to the audience whenever her band played live.

With that in mind you can see that the band are clearly taking cues from the Riot Grrrl scene, what with Apollonia‘s vocal similarities to Hanna’s, but with an added Aussie sensibility akin to yob rockers The Cosmic Psychos. There is also more of a bluesy stoner rock vibe too that makes the track a far more appealing prospect to anything that was released in Olympia/Washington State in the 1990s.

a short sharp shock of a release that will appeal to everyone from Riot Grrrl fanatics to punks and even hard rockers…

Backstreets seems to mine a similar-ish territory to the punk-metal of L7, Babes In Toyland and Seven Year Bitch, laden with sneering attitude this is one hell of a fun listen, while Frenzy has some ultra-slick AC/DC style riffs with some The Stooges attitude thrown into the mix, this is a hell of a combo and if you’re going to take inspiration from anywhere, well, those aren’t bad places to draw from. For more contemporary influences see The Hellacopters and Backyard Babies which help add a touch of sleaze to proceedings.

Fancy a trip back to the legendary CBGB’s in its ‘70s heyday? Then Sane To Insane is here to satisfy that need, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers are a possible reference point here as well as a little Motörhead thrown in for good measure. Well, the promo notes did mention them being inspired by their parents record collection, so…voila! Say What You Say again mines AC/DC and is a catchy little bastard truth be told, and Things I Hear reminds one of a faster Fu Manchu with some cool as fuck California desert rock, note the particularly awesome breakdown at the end of the track that makes for a groovy and thrilling conclusion to the EP.

So here it is then, seven tracks in sixteen and a half minutes, a short sharp shock of a release that will appeal to everyone from Riot Grrrl fanatics to punks and even hard rockers. Unpretentious and straight to the point, the Frenzee EP recalled The Bobby Lees’ Bellevue which I reviewed recently and if you’ve read my review of that album, you’ll know this is a very good thing indeed.

Label: Ouga Booga And The Mighty Oug Recordings
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Scribed by: Reza Mills