Freelove Fenner, Single Mothers, and Rogue Theory
Freelove Fenner
The Punishment Zone // Moone Records
As many approach it, self-care in the information age requires a conscious effort to disconnect from one's digital self and from the instant gratification of our favourite devices. An act of resistance as simple as reading a book instead of scrolling Twitter, speaking with a friend instead of texting, or putting the needle down on a record instead of shuffling a streaming playlist takes practice and discipline for most of us. And while these might seem to only be token gestures, there are gains, both tangible and intangible, to be found by this deliberate re-centering of oneself as a human creature, autonomous to the digital realm.
If this is a brand of aesthetic consciousness that intrigues you, Freelove Fenner’s recent full-length album — a long-awaited follow-up to 2013’s acclaimed Do Not Affect A Breezy Manner — is worthy of your full attention. The Punishment Zone was recorded and produced in Montreal at the band’s strictly-analog Bottle Garden Studio, a living museum of vintage sound and recording equipment — think reel-to-reel and cassette tape machines, screenless antique mixing boards, vacuum-tube amplifiers, and a menagerie of heirloom organs, electric pianos, and rack effects (analog production enthusiasts might enjoy geeking out over the studio’s detailed equipment list). While many audiophiles believe that analog formats offer a unique tonal saturation and sonic warmth, a more feasible approach for most modern producers chasing that sound is to do a “tape layback” during mastering — that is, record and mix a track digitally, run it through an tape machine, and then re-digitize it for more practical dissemination. Freelove Fenner take this approach a giant step further. By recording the entire album using only analog equipment and looping tape, the artists have adopted a particular set of confines in pursuit of a slower, more deliberate, and more tactile creative process — one that necessitates definitive, linear editing by way of physically cutting tape, and retains more of the small, unique imperfections and happy accidents that might be imperceptible to most observers, but that leave an indelibly human fingerprint upon the work.
In this idealist playground, Freelove Fenner have crafted an ornate collection of experimental art pop songs, carefully layered into a decadent mille-feuille of influences from ‘70s-era progressive pop, soft rock, and electronica. Because they are primordial to much of modern popular music, the variety of vintage organ and piano tones heard on The Punishment Zone sound comforting and familiar — take, for example, the pitch-bending synth-flute featured most prominently on “LED Museum”. Alongside are shimmering guitar lines, warbling bass, and a playful diversity of percussive sounds. Dramatic crescendos and tempo changes are rare; instead much of the album presents a steady beat that, paired with the deadpan, phlegmatic vocals, lulls the listener into something of a liminal space. The cyclical melody and bright timbre of the guitar parts on several songs take on a mechanical nature, like a hand-wound toy. On a track like “Glass Numbers”, it’s easy to imagine the internal cylinder of a music box, set with pins that pluck at the tines of a metal comb as it steadily rotates; once the clockwork tune has run through enough times to satisfy, it feels sensible to stop winding and put the box back on the shelf. The Punishment Zone exhibits a likewise economy of songwriting — no track exceeds the 3-minute mark, and Freelove Fenner often eschew the expected pop song structure of verse-chorus-verse.
There is an interesting human vs. machine juxtaposition threaded throughout the album. On one side is an organic, manual, all-analog creative process, and the resultant warmth of those techniques shining through; on the other are some very mechanical, at times automatonic-sounding rhythmic and vocal approaches. This tension is highlighted by lyrics that touch upon the alienation of modern life (“Does the living unit have a name? / Does the living unit have its way? / Keeping us fed and entertained / Staying on top of washing day”), and the trappings of the instantaneous technological conveniences that surround us (“How will you fix your gaze / Down in the modern age? / What does a hemline say? / Changing for changing’s sake”). The recurrent themes of digital-age isolation and resistance might suggest something about the philosophical motivations that underlie an analog-only recording methodology. And as with something like Japanese joinery, you have to respect the painstaking skill and principled craftsmanship that it takes to revive and retain antiquated techniques — those abandoned by the masses in favour of faster, cheaper, or easier results — especially when the results sparkle with hand-wrought beauty and seem to stand outside of time in a way that their counterparts rarely do.
On the audience’s side, there is little question that active engagement with art generally, and music in particular, can be deeply undermined by certain digital conveniences — consider the ways in which algorithmic tastemaking, the instant playlist shuffle, and the abstract, ownerless, disposable nature of bottomless streaming formats might be impacting your own relationship with music. The Punishment Zone offers attentive listeners a unique aesthetic opportunity to reflect upon and resist the worst of those trends, even if just for a moment. I’d recommend you embrace the analog spirit of this album by grabbing it on vinyl, or (at the very least) consider putting your phone away while you give it a listen.
- Julie Maier
Single Mothers
Bubble // Independent
Bubble is the latest of two releases by Canadian punks Single Mothers in 2021 which follow their third studio album Through A Wall (released in 2018 to critical acclaim and a slew of shows across North America). Heavy and fuzzy drums chug over electronic-y noise and sparse sampling. Unassuming guitar chirps and twangs thoughtfully. Vocalist Andrew Thomson is unerringly exciting as he growls, shouts, and sometimes even sings, evoking with an easy nonchalance of the listless, angry, drunk, and bored. Washing up in the morning becomes an empty gesture that underlines an empty routine, bricks crash through windows, dive bars kick you out sometimes, flowers sit around waiting for honeybees to stop by.
Bubble is a stripped down project in the sense that there is not too much concern with layering and the instrumentation, the project is mainly driven by interesting drum beats and driving basslines. The odd radio-style vocal sample and electronic bleeps are added in as seasoning on top of the more mainstream melodies, like the guitar on “Brick Wall” and “Washing Up”. The vocals stand out, however, and do a lot of the work on this project towards defining the band’s sound. Single Mothers’ style is distinctive even when it moves around and experiments. Thomson’s style of writing is unafraid to hammer home phrases by repeating them but avoids being repetitive, and it feels as if the band is unafraid to take any sound or style they end up coming across and run with it. On the more melodic tracks like “Washing Up” and “Honey Bee” this ends up infringing slightly on the territory of artists like Beck and The Gorillaz. At other times the sound ends up being much more heavy, clearly pulling from a more classic punk sound like on “Brick Wall”. Thomson’s speak-sing style of delivery even delves into Hip-Hop territory at points where Single Mothers are unafraid of incorporating bouncier rhythms and even sprinkle a little jazz, like on “34” and “Out of Control”. Ultimately this stylistic fluidity contributes to a laid-back atmosphere that underlines and compliments the subject matter, highlights the bands distinctive style, and is ultimately a boon to all musician’s involved.
Bubble is fantastically put-together and stays engaging throughout the run of the project. Single Mothers moves around stylistically without foregoing their distinctive sound, and Andrew Thomson’s lyrics are evocative and down-to-earth. Despite the intensity and experimentative nature of their sound, Single Mothers have created with Bubble a piece of music that is accessible and worth a listen.
- Devon Acuña
Rogue Theory
Jumping the Shark! // Perfectly Cromulent Records
I started going to gigs around the Edmonton area around 95-96. I’d found my home amongst the other angry and misunderstood youth of my time. Edmonton always had and will always have an amazing music scene. It’s been the most fun. Some of the friends that were made became lifelong friends because of the music. I did grow up, get sober, get married and have a family of my own but I found my way back to my roots in the music that seemed to complete me on the inside and out. Good music with heart and some attitude. Good ol’ Punk Rock you never let me down! I have that music to thank for getting me through the angriest years of my life.
Edmonton has many excellent punk bands that range in style. Some with crust. Some without crust. Some more skate or stoner style. Some with horns or even fiddle. Some even world renowned. But one thing remains... Edmonton has a thriving punk scene that’s not going to die or go away anytime soon.
With all that being said look no further!
Edmonton’s Rogue Theory has brought something super fun to the party! A new release and full length album titled, Jumping the Shark! This one is sure to brighten your days with a happy mix of metal riffs and skate punk to get you through the insanity of today. With themes of modern society, modern media, relationships gone bad, and some disdain for elitism in the punk rock scene.
Recorded and produced in Edmonton at The Physics Lab by none other than Rob Lawless from The Real Sickies. Mixed and mastered by ‘the’ Terry Paholek. Both very well known for their work in punk and metal around the city. Band Members are Matt Zeiter on vox and guitar, Tom Schroffel on bass and backing vox, and Sean Downer on drums. They’ve been around the scene and attended many punk hall shows over the years as well. Matt and Sean also both playing in previous power metal project Guardians of Power around 2013 and then Static Inflection a little later. They craved something more from their punk rock roots. With skate punk influences like Face to Face, NOFX, Descendants and some power metal riffs like that of Helloween. Something deadly crawled out and Rogue Theory was born. They’ve played around Edmonton at various venues and with few different band mates along the way. I’ve had the pleasure of playing with them at Adamstock music festival and at BlakBar on Whyte Ave, Edmonton. One thing I dig about them is they were just some nice humble guys. Didn’t make me feel dumb when I said how I’d enjoyed their set. Had a nice conversation and Matt threw in a patch with the t-shirt I’d bought and I thought that was pretty cool! No ego just kindness. That’s what I love about this band , their music and this scene! Now for the music…
“Turn on the Lights” is the killer track they kick things off with. It’s like a kick to the jaw in the mosh pit. It has some good lyrical content and the boots to back it up! “Turn On the lights! Cause I wanna see reality” Fitting theme for today. With so much mis-information it’s hard to know what’s real anymore. One thing we all deserve is to be told the truth.
“Everything’s Offensive” speaks volumes in that title alone. When you pair the deadly drumming, fat thick bass, sweet power metal guitar licks with those real raw vocals, and a few fun tempo changes for good measure this is what you get and if you don’t like it oh well. In a day when cancel culture is so prevalent. It’s like: did the world become too sensitive or were we programmed all this time? Now people are waking up. Having to learn new ways of speaking, and adapting to treating each other with respect and kindness. Are we evolving? I hope so!
“2008” is a song to pay homage to those roots and reminisce of the good times. I love the words, the emotion and the killer breakdown section of the song with a little nice squelching bit of guitar. It was a nice jump in the time machine. Brings back my own good memories! That’s all we have in the end and they can’t take that away from us!
Fun factoid provided by the band:
“Jumping the Shark! Is a term used to describe the moment a long running tv show starts it’s inevitable decline. Starting with an episode of Happy Days where The Fonz literally jumps a Shark on water ski’s to prove his cool! Calling it Jumping the Shark is just a sarcastic way of pondering that maybe we've been at this music thing too long. Guess the next one might be called Too Dumb To Quit?!!”
I hope to hear many more from Rogue Theory in the future and I certainly hope we get to play a show together again one day! Well go dig your heels in and give it a listen! It’s a great release and I think you’ll get a kick out of it too!
Love Always,
Green Noreen
