Fratmouth, Columbia’s newest group of noise punk provocateurs, has finally dropped an EP, and it’s a doozie. It’s tricky for a group of performance artists to take the jump to an EP, but they’ve managed to transfer their unique showmanship to the short-form medium.
Noise rock can be a lot to take, but lead singer Derry Child — formerly known as Pedro Lopez DeVictoria — has made things easy for you. “Warm Jeffrey” is raucous, loud and in your face, but it’s rarely ugly. All of the yelps and guitar freakouts in the world can’t cover up Child’s poppy appeal. It’s sped-up and fuzzed-up music, but there’s the skeleton of a more conventionally appealing EP just beneath.
Nowhere is this more apparent than with “PRAWM NIGHT (MY THRD NIPL\E),” which is half soulful, groovy, fuzzy music and half musical anarchy. It can feel like the EP is half real music and half jokey performance art, but that wouldn’t be giving enough props to the musical artistry of the noise rock. Even the most undisciplined-sounding noise music is coming from hard work and musical knowhow, even if it doesn’t seem like it.
“Warm Jeffrey” isn’t for everyone. But it’s easier to get into than a lot of noise rock, partially because of Child’s still-present knack for making poppy, fun music and partially because it all seems sillier than other noise rock. It’s musical goofballery at its finest, well worth a listen for anyone interested in humoring experimentalism and complete instrumental abandonment.