April 15, 2019

Frankie and The Witch Fingers ZAM

9.4 / 10

Frankie and The Witch Fingers ZAM sees the Los Angeles California 4 piece dealing out their signature mix of vintage rock, L.A. punk, desert rock, psychedelic madness.

These skinny rockers are grungy and rock the shit outta their live performances. The guitar solos have a thick tone with plenty of fuzz and expressive bending and vibrato to be distinctive. The music often has a stop starts amongst the layers of noise and cymbals for dramatic effect. ZAM is out now from Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records on red splatter vinyl in a gatefold case as a Double LP!

Frankie And The Witch Fingers Nicole_Smith

Frankie and The Witch Fingers are no spring chicken, they debut in 2013, yet this album may prove to be what gets them the most attention. The vintage transistor organs and wacky effects bring in that 1960’s sunshine charm, while the drums, driving bass and pushed vocals give the punk rock edge. A treble boosted rhythm guitar that cuts and spikes through the percussion and midrange vocals. The nasal vocals have a hint of “The Bird is the Word” vintage punk rock. The songs build-up and explode over and over in a fashion more comparable to Oh Sees. The intensity of the music is heavily reliant on the guitars to get crazy and noisy.

The first single off the album “Pleasure” is catchy and rhythmic with a very weird music video to boot. The music pops and stops in a dancable way that lightly hints at groups like the Talking Heads with robotic staccato vocals. The best comparison for this band is the 13th Floor Elevators with their pre-punk psychedelic rock and roll that was ahead of its time.

ZAM is a great follow-up to Brain Telephone (2017) and takes a more aggressive and modern approach. The sound has grown but these guys have always been vacuum tight and satisfyingly awesome. ZAM is a long album with the best sound quality of any release by Frankie and The Witch Fingers. Get on the rollercoaster!