Frenzal Rhomb hold a unique place in the Australian music
landscape. Not only are they one of the few home grown punk
acts to achieve any sort of mainstream success, but they have
purposely traded on their own alternative sense of
Australianaess. 15 years after forming in Sydney, and after
several line up changes, the motley quartet still shuns the
typical punk-rock clichés – Mohawks, black leather and chains
are noticeably absent and tartan only appears when vocalist
Jay Whalley dons his checkered lounge suit.
The band, of which
Jay is the only original member after the mysterious departure
of co-founding member and bassist Lex Feltham in 2002, has
always understood that true longevity and relevance are only
achieved by a commitment to the ideals that lay at the heart
of their music – and not by recycling the tired slogans and
gestures of their punk predecessors.
The entire band is
vegan, and guitarist Lindsay McDougall is an active animal
liberationist. Furthermore, after
a
failed flirtation with major record labels the band has
returned to their independent roots and this has seen them
focus their acerbic wit into sharper and more incisive
missives that not only bear the trademark Frenzal irreverence
and oddball humour but also a more intelligent understanding
of society.
1998's breakthrough
album 'Meet the Family' was certified gold on the
strength of singles such as 'All Your Friends (think you're a
fuckhead)' and 'You Can't Move Into My House'. But the stand
out track was undoubtedly 'Racist', which appeared on the Vans
Warped Tour compilation of that year along with 'Ship of
Beers' another track from the same album. 'Racist' was short,
fast and undeniably catchy – the hallmarks of most Frenzal
songs – but it also provided an articulate account of the
difficulties in opposing the racist sentiments encouraged by
Hansonism; especially when those sentiments were espoused by
your friends. "To ignore it's to condone it, if you think
about it don't shut up," goes the track, "…you might as well
be speaking at the next One Nation Meet." It could be the
stripped-down punk take on Martin Luther King's famous quote
"There comes a time when silence is betrayal." Indeed, Frenzal
Rhomb appear to have adopted this philosophy as their credo;
for instance, 'Racist' takes no prisoners in its advice to
those who tolerate their friends' bigotry and ends abruptly
with: "Some of my best friends are racist - my best friends
are arseholes."
On 'Meet the
Family' tracks such as 'Racist' were few and far between,
but fast-forward to 2003 (and skip the successful 'A Man's
Not a Camel' and the failed major label release 'Shut
Your Mouth') and Frenzal Rhomb returned with the
independent 'Sans Souci' (a Sydney suburb named after
the French term for 'no worries'). By far the band's most
mature and insightful work, 'Sans Souci' won Frenzal
the respect from critics that fans felt had been long
overdue. Although opening single 'Bucket Bong' hinted at a
return to the humorous banality of earlier recordings, it's
themes of drug use could be better described as a statement to
fans and the punk community that the band was again free of
major label pressure to gain commercial radio play. This issue
came to a head in July 2004 when Jay and the band had a much
publicized confrontation with Austereo employee and radio 2Day
FM host Jackie O (Jacqueline O'Neil) at an all day concert in
Darwin.
Jackie O, who
co-hosts with Australian Idol's Kyle Sandilyands, was
allegedly 9 hours late for the concert at which she was booked
to make a guest appearance and rumours quickly circulated that
she had been spotted in nightclubs early that morning. Upon
arriving O'Neil attempted to address the crowd during
Frenzal's set at which point the band unceremoniously began to
play over her. Suffice to say that this angered the AWOL radio
presenter who left the stage in tears. What ensued was a
public slanging match that culminated in an on-air argument
between Jay, Jackie O and Sandilands.
At one point the
increasingly aggressive Sandilands promised Jay that Austereo
would "…never play Frenzal Rhomb again", to which Jay proudly
remarked "you never have." A recording of the argument remains
on the band's MySpace site as ever-popular proof to their fans
of their willingness to sacrifice popularity and mainstream
acceptance for grassroots credibility.
But the band's
ability to make these distinctions clear to their fans has
been tested by the appointment of
Jay and Lindsay (aka the Doctor) as Triple J breakfast hosts
following the departure of Adam Spencer and Will Anderson at
the end of 2004. All of a sudden the notoriously outspoken
pair was forced to bite their tongues when playing music and
interviewing musicians about whom they would preferably be
writing outrageously offensive songs. 'Sans Souci'
included a number entitled 'Russell Crowe's Band' which
spawned some predictably popular T-shirts adorned by the
lyric: "At least we know that Russell Crowe's band is a
fucking pile of shit." Frenzal have also written a song about
Johnny Ramone which ignores his hallowed contribution to punk
rock and focuses on the contradictory man himself. Aside from
the unpalatable title 'Johnny Ramone Was In A Fucken Good Band
But He Was A Cunt (Gabba Gabba You Suck)' it also includes the
line: "Second verse different from the first, hey redneck hop
in my fucking hearse."
Those who
appreciate these songs for their honesty (and let's face it,
accuracy too) would agree that Jay and The Doctor appear to
struggle occasionally with their role as supporters of new
Australian talent when that 'talent' doesn't meet their own
expectations. This is understandable, and one can only assume
that if the Australian market were big enough to support an
independent band such as Frenzal Rhomb (whose audience is
almost entirely Australian) on a full-time basis, they would
quit their day jobs and return to throwing muck from outside
the mainstream media. But this is not a luxury afforded to
independent bands in Australia that receive airplay from just
one of the major radio stations. Much has been written about
John Butler's worthy resolution to remain indie, however this
task is made much easier by the fact that JBT hits such as
'Zebra' and 'Betterman' have been played consistently on
stations as diverse as Triple J and Nova. In light of the fact
that commercial radio stations steer clear of music that
contains offensive language, it goes without saying that they
have avoided songs such as 'Bucket Bong' like the plague.
In 2004 Jay and the
Doctor were labeled insensitive by the Adelaide Tourism
Commission after playing a song on air that they had written
about the bizarre murders in Snowtown titled, 'There's No Town
Like Snowtown." This song and other irreverent offerings like
it were released on the album 'Love Songs for the Wrong at
Heart' under the pseudonym The Self Righteous Brothers, in
2004. It also included the tracks '(I'm) The Only Gay Soldier
Left in Iraq' and 'Daddy Drinks Because You Cry'. But back to
'Sans Souci'.
What set this album
apart from Frenzal's previous work was the skill with which
they blended their leftist outlook, warped and politically
incorrect sense of humour and articulate social commentary
into a cohesive punk album that didn't shy away from
referencing their native country. Unlike 'Meet the Family'
or 'Not So Tough Now', it focused more heavily on songs
inspired by the inequities of Australian society, like 'Lead
Poisoned Jean', 'White White World' (a take on Cat Stevens'
'Wild World') and 'Who'd Be a Cop?'. However, Sans Souci is
still unmistakably Frenzal Rhomb and tracks such as '60,
Beautiful and Mine', and 'I Went Out With A Hippy And Now I
Love Everyone Except For Her' maintain the humor whilst
relying more on wit than sheer juvenility.
But ultimately, it
is Frenzal's willingness to identify themselves as Australian
that will secure them a place, if any, in the underappreciated
pantheon of great Australian rock bands. In an era were
Australia's few successful exports have been heralded largely
for their feats of musical impressionism (early silverchair/Nirvana,
Jet/Rolling Stones, Wolfmother/Led Zeppelin), Frenzal have
refused to adopt the mannerisms, fashions and predilection for
nihilism so prevalent in their American counterparts.
Blanket
anti-authoritarianism is the refuge of anarchists and the
ill-informed, but Frenzal Rhomb have exhibited a more reasoned
and intelligent view of the world that separates them from the
snotty nosed posers who rely on their clichéd outfits and
borrowed gestures to inform the audience of their
intentions. In this department Frenzal deserve to be likened
to some of the great Australian punk bands such as Midnight
Oil and The Celibate Rifles who acknowledged that grandiose
cries for revolution were, in many ways, an
anathema
to the Australian way of doing business, at least in the
political sense.
Instead of cheap
sloganeering, these bands gave us the kind of studied opinion
that Pink Floyd would be proud of, and disguised it with
incendiary guitars and typically loose punk production
values.
But Frenzal's
contribution has gone largely unnoticed by the mainstream
audience. This is due in part to their irrepressible and
sometimes offensive sense of humour which has often detracted
from the more serious messages underlying their music. Of
course, their disregard for commercial radio play is also a
factor, although 1999's 'A Man's Not A Camel' peaked at
number 11 on the ARIA charts. Their decision to remain
independent will ensure that this scenario doesn't change, and
the reality of their unappreciated place in the Australian
music scene is dealt with, perhaps unintentionally, on their
latest release, 'Forever Malcolm Young'. A clever play
on Youth Group's number one cover of Alphaville's 'Forever
Young' and the 'eternal bridesmaid' status of AC/DC's rhythm
guitarist Malcolm Young, this 2006 offering picks up where
'Sans Souci' left off.
With short and
sharp (none of the 20 tracks break the three minute barrier)
outbursts against philandering priests ('Red Wine And Altar
Boys'), cruelty to animals ('Don't Touch The Rabbit'),
predictive text ('Predickle Me This'), emo bands ('Fuck You
And Your Stupid Band'), the Americanization of Australian
culture ('Holiday Not Vacation') and of course Johnny Ramone
(enough said), 'Forever Malcolm Young' confirms that
Frenzal Rhomb are one of the few Australian bands with any
discernible profile that are prepared to call it exactly as
they see it.
But it is the title
track that provides an unwitting analogy for the band's own
progression. "Always Gnocchi not Linguine, Never Hitler You're
Mussolini," Jay laments, apparently oblivious to his band's
own under-dog status. "Always Malcolm never Angus, end up
Carlton when you want to be Negus', is a suitably Australian
metaphor for the second-string roll of AC/DC's other
guitarist, but die hard fans of Frenzal Rhomb will recognize
the thinly veiled reference to the band's own status. "Single
pluggers never speakers, always headphones never the
speakers."
To the doe eyed
masses who feed on the insipid ditties churned out by the
likes of Delta Goodrem, they will be forever Malcolm Young,
but to their fans they remain one of the few punk bands who
have grappled with Australian iconography and lived to tell
the tale. For this they deserve better.
BLAIR BOYER
