Fredward
//
Self-released (2013)
Sounds like: Driving, melodic post-punk/hardcore
Score: 9/10
Every once in awhile a band comes out of nowhere and really surprises me. I’m talking about the kind of music that strikes me immediately; songs that are so good that I feel compelled to listen to them again and again as soon as they end. I suppose it’s even sweeter when that band originates from right here in Las Vegas.
Fredward is a newer group that features ex-members (in particular two brothers) from the old LV punk/HC outfit Faceplant. My old band, Faded Grey, played a couple times with Faceplant way back when, and I would continue to see a few of the members at random shows throughout the following years. I always thought they were cool guys, and while I liked the thrash of Faceplant OK, I really had no idea these dudes had so much talent.
The obvious comparison for their new band, Fredward, is Hot Water Music, but I’m feeling the older HWM that was more emo and less of the straight up rock band they became (i.e. No Idea vs Epitaph years). In fact, a lot of the music here really does harken back to HWM’s great Fuel For The Hate Game/Forever and Counting era with a hard driving sound and plenty of melodic breaks, although I think Beau’s cleaner vocals are more akin to Chris Wollard’s later work in HWM. I suppose a “less gruff” version of early HWM is what I’m trying to get at, if that makes any sense.
I also hear traces of Fivespeed, Helmet, Planes Mistaken For Stars, Small Brown Bike, and Time in Malta, but that not’s to say this band is a rip-off by any means, as there are plenty of unique elements at work on this four-song EP of “alternative post-punk.” The band’s bandcamp page also describes Fredward as, “hooky, guitar driven, and melodic” and I definitely hear all of the above in the mix. These songs are ultra-catchy without being sugar-coated like so much “pop” punk these days, and yet the sound retains enough edge and grit to constantly remind me that the members of the band have roots in punk and hardcore.
Fredward’s bandcamp page also states, “You’ll be singing these songs in your sleep,” and to be honest, I was actually humming these tunes in my head as I went to bed last night. I only wish I knew more about pressing records, because I would start a label right now just to put this EP on wax. It’s that good.
I don’t have lyrics, so I can’t expand on that aspect of this band, nor do I know if a hard copy of this EP even exists. You can, however, download Fredward’s four song EP here, and they also have two cuts on a live benefit album for local scene stalwart, Clay Heximer, which is available here.
As I jam these four songs over and over again, I sincerely hope that the guys in Fredward continue to write and record songs of this caliber.
-Lance Wells
No Comments