Finally! I've waited over a year for this. For a year all I could do was imagine the sounds of pictures from the studio on the @thebandfran instagram. I've been waiting a long time. By now, I must be a super-fran.
FRAN. is from Rochester, NY. The 26 minute and 17 second EP released on March 20th was recorded and mixed by Stephen Roessner at Calibrated Sound. Gotta love that crispy studio quality stereo goodness!
"FRAN. Rises" is a psychedelic rocket trip through clouds and space dust. It's an atmospheric blanket of sonic lushness. The singer Jon Lewis's voice has that same mysterious freedom that Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse has, but his melodies and warmth of tone are much smoother. The full sound reminds me of Covet, but less technical.
The songs compliment each other so well! We kick things off with "Run" to get all your funky vibes out at once before we transition to the darker tone of "Heart in Hand" and the open landscape of "9D1". The last half of 9D1 is a great highlight of the excellent guitar work from Mark Bamann and Eric Kearney. "Cubic" and "Wheat Toast" are two most excellent jam pieces ready to whip any and all future spectators into a dance frenzy!
I want to highlight more members of the band, but I don't know them all and I can't find that information online. As of finishing this blog post the band hasn't even promoted their new EP on their instagram! (So this is sort of like an exclusive first look!) FRAN. is self described only as "party makers / booty shakers" and not advertising geniuses. Don't sleep on this fresh EP though!
Their music is amazingly satisfying so advertising be damned. "FRAN. Rises" is streaming everywhere now. Go listen.