Dear Fred, I Love You. You Make Me Happy. Do You Have Any Idea How Long It's Been?
Remember the other day I was lamenting not having a band that was moving me? Well, my musical prayers have been answered, because I've found Fred. They're a five-piece band from Cork City, Ireland and they make really infectious, extremely accessible, ever-so-slightly-retro indie pop. It's thick with horns and strings and layered vocals and I am now obsessed with them.
You know it's funny, but at first I thought, Hey, I rather like this stuff but I'm not sure it's got that deep emotional pull I'm looking for. Then it hit me--it makes me happy, I just didn't recognize the feeling! It's witty and cheerful even when they're singing about darker things. It makes me want to sing and beat the steering wheel like a drum and turn it up really, really loud. It's been a long time since I've felt this way about a record.
The official promo track, "Running," is an excellent song but it's not the best track and actually, it's probably my least favorite on the record, which is a very back-handed way of saying I love this album. It will definitely be on my top-ten list at the end of the year.
From start to finish it's tight and catchy and has an undercurrent of 60s/70s nostalgia. My theory is that their parents, possibly even their grandparents, listened to a lot of horn-and-falsetto infused pop while the kids were young and it seeped into their collective musical unconscious. Whatever the case may be, it's a lot of fun and I think you'll like it, too.
Fred--"Running" mp3 off Go God Go (buy)
Fred--"Four Chords and the Truth" mp3 off Making Music So You Don't Have To (buy)
Go God Go is their third full-length album and will be available digitally 10/1/08 but won't be in stores (in Canada, at least) until February '09. I'm not sure when it comes out in the US. They do have a few dates coming up in Ireland before leaving to play a handful of shows in Quebec and Ontario in October, so if I were you, I'd try to see them and then please, send them my way.
Apropos of nothing, I went to college with a guy named Fred--lived in the same dorm for an entire year--but I can't for the life of me remember his last name. He's not in this band, though, I can guarantee that!
I don't think I knew the last names of any of the people I went to uni
with. There were even some whose first names I didn't know. My friends and
I would invent names for those people. There was 'Late Boy'
(self-explanatory), 'Knitting Girl' (also self-explanatory) 'Mr Nice Guy'
(was a bit of a suck), 'Capsicum Boy' (ate a red capsicum in class once,
just like an apple) and 'Annoying Mature Age Lady' who kept asking inane
questions, prolonging the lecture until wayyyy past dinner time/Dr. Phil
time/beer time. Them was the days...
Back again...loving the Fred tunes. If 'Running' isn't your favourite
track, then I'm definitely looking forward to checking out the rest of the
album. It must be pretty good! Will have to do some digging to see what I
can find.
Great call, am really liking the album too - 'Evergreen' is really clicking
with me at the moment. They've had a single called 'Summers Coming' a
couple of years ago which was really nice. Nice to see good Irish acts
making an impact abroad.
yay! a cork band! i used to live there. sill, as cork bands go, fred are
great, but they're no frank + walters...
anyways, thanks marcy, i've been meaning to check this out, and now i will.
agnes--i guess it bugs me that i can't remember his name because i can see
his face so clearly and i can remember his hometown and we even still quote
certain things he said. the dorm we lived in was a suite with only 12
people, so i really should remember! anyway, i'm glad you like fred--it's
really worth tracking it down.
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