Frankie and the Witch Fingers by David Fearn
Picturesque lyrics and anxiety fueled vocals strewn bombastically atop tear-your-hair-out, rock ’n’ roll ferocity — this is the unapologetic motif of Frankie and the Witch Fingers. Reminiscent of The Hives, or your very first panic attack, their sound teeters on angst but has a playful mania that could inspire tremors in a slab of granite. The music blended with their exuberant performance style feels like an apt exploration of the inner child — that spastic, overwhelmed, animalistic spirit vying to break the bonds of humdrum existence.
Parlayed into outrageously vibrant performance style, Frankie’s entire catalogue is no match for the sedentary, from their 2013 debut album, “Sidewalk” through a clutch of full-lengths, EPs and singles.
Frankie’s latest album, “ZAM,” also lays waste to uniform notions of time. Their briefest track, “I Am,” is a mere 1:07 seconds, and their longest, “Underneath You,” an ambitious 9:29. Yet inside the mayhem each track is so engagingly intricate and finely executed that you lose yourself in its space. Though every individual song could be a standalone hit, listening to the entire project front to back — like, you know, we all did before Spotify? — is a mania-fueled esoteric experience.
Other observers have suggested these L.A. saboteurs are even more essential live, and so they’ll be eagerly welcomed to Miami in a show at Las Rosas presented by Dead South, with a trio of made-in-Florida acts opening: Timothy Eerie, Orlando-bred sonic adventurers in psych, folk and pop (and recent Bumblefest alumni); Donzii, a self-styled “post-punk performance art” troupe of five from Miami by way of New York; and Broward’s Electric Supply Company.
If you’ve yet to hear any of the above, you’re overdue. Each is iconic in their own right, and each brings a uniquely evocative personality to bear — and leaves it all out there for a willing audience. It’s a quadruple-bill that promises to grab you by the wrists and pull you through an auditory house of mirrors and a mind’s-eye-opening interior trip.
Dead South presents Frankie and the Witch Fingers 8pm Thursday October 17 at Las Rosas in Miami with Timothy Eerie, Donzii, and Electric Supply Company. frankieandthewitchfingers.bandcamp.com ~ Freddie Zandt
