If there was a Mount Rushmore of Noise Rawk artists in the New England area we’d go out on a limb and name BEDTIMEMAGIC, Sapling, Miracle Blood and the focus of today’s ramblings: Salem’s own The Freqs. Chances are, if you’ve been fans of any of those bands, you’ve caught one of the other ones sharing the stage either as a guest appearance or on the same bill and if you’ve listened to any of their music then the same rules apply (Speaking of, MB’s Andrew Wong and BTM’s Nicholas Pentabona both pop up on the record we’re about to crush hard on). Hell, we’re waiting for that inevitable team up album like the recent Napalm Death/Melvins collab with a hefty amount of Butthole Surfers thrown in the mix…. But we digress! The Freqs is the focus!
And The Freqs is readying their debut LP for release featuring eight tracks that are even more bombastic (Bombasticer even?? Also, not a word) than what made up 2023’s Poachers which already drew rave reviews outta us. While the bulk of Poachers was a sonic slap in the face (In a good way!), No God on the Gold Coast is a more refined affair yet still raucous as all heck.
“John Travolta” kicks it off with a robust rumble and a furnished fuzz that envelops all and sparks an effervescent electricity that runs through every ounce of The Freqs’ music and especially throughout No God on the Gold Coast. “Chainsawman” continues on, laying off on the frenzy slightly in favor of a focus on Zack Fierman’s staccato stick work and Ian Mandly’s booming Bass tones for a Sludgy affair that sheds a light on the more maniacal side of Vocalist/Guitarist Seth Crowell’s voice.
“Lo IQ” starts with Robert Downey Jr sharing some views on Wall Street (From The Last Party) before a loud lambasting of a sonic nature and the first of many cooler chant-a-long moments happen while “CLEARANCE WRECK” changes the tone ever so slightly with its’ quiet start until an explosion of noise and screams fills the space then begins that cycle anew and “It Might Be Rabies” is all fervent fury that arrives in swells with a burgeoning build that’ll cause uncontrollable swaying out of listeners.
Next up, “Secondhand Jesus” is probably the closest sonically to Poachers which makes this dynamic ditty a bit of a devolution or maybe more a throwback before the beastly “Short King” comes correct like one of those aggressive/in-your-face Deftones tracks jump scaring unsuspecting fans who only know the “hits”. And finally, curated chaos is the name of the game when it comes to the big and bold Sludge/Grunge fest of “Nite Hag” which easily has one of the coolest outros since Motherboar hung it up (Kudos to Producer/Sound Engineer Alex Allinson on another fabulous sounding album).
No God on the Gold Coast drops on May 29th and you can get yer pre-savin’ and pre-orderin’ on now by heading here or to the stream below. For more from The Freqs, including a bevy of bodaciousalicious (Very much not a word) live appearances like the rekkid release show happening at Middle East Upstairs THIS WEEKEND (Saturday, May 23rd) along with The Rupert Selection and Knock Over City supporting (Advance ticket link here), hit the information superhighway and find the socials here and here.