Ah television, the place where many us spend our off-time and vacation days, where we can watch other people live their lives from our La-Z-Boys and dream of what it might be like to be them.
Television and its effects are the themes of FRIGSâ latest single, âTV,â premiering today on Nerdist. The Toronto-based foursome are led by vocalist Bria Salmena, whose affecting brood places FRIGS in the same canon as other emotive, female-led indie outfitsâthink Angel Olsen, Torres, Weyes Blood, et al. And they’re of that same caliber, too. The band’s forthcoming EP, Slush, was recorded in their Toronto apartment and it quickly attracted their excellent hometown label, Arts & Crafts.
FRIGS ostensibly cleaned up since their 2013 debut arrived under the Dirty Frigs moniker, but âTVâ is hardly “clean.” It’s dressed in a thick film that matches both Salmenaâs disillusionment and her uncertainty after a life spent watching the small screen. âWhat am I supposed to be?â she wonders.
“TV” has a heaving sway that burns slowly over the course of four and a half minutes. Guitars shimmer in the periphery, as the bass is fittingly reminiscent of the opening riff of the Twin Peaks theme songâenough to suggest its lilt and salient mystery. At the center of it all is Salmenaâs sultry voice: âI wanna be like the lucky ones / I gotta be like the lucky ones.â And after a lifetime’s worth of breezy sitcom’d endings and whitewashed celebrity lives, who wouldn’t? How are we to know what we’re supposed to be, if not them?
Slush arrives today, so check it out. If you need more convincing, you should know that, according to Facebook, their band manager is Bruce Willis. Whether thatâs true, or a joke, or maybe it’s just that their manager is some other guy named Bruce Willis, Iâm for it. Go check out one of their shows and ask for Bruce:
FRIGS Tour
June 19Â – Sudbury – The Townhouse *
June 23Â – Calgary – Sled Island – Broken City (Patio) %
June 28Â – Edmonton – The Buckingham
July 1Â – Vancouver – The Cobalt
July 02Â – Nanaimo – Crace House
July 05Â – Seattle – Blacklodge
July 06Â – Portland – High Water Mark
July 07Â – Oakland – Sgraffito
July 08Â – Los Angeles – TBA
July 10Â – Albuquerque – Gold House
July 11Â – Denver – Rhinoceropolis
July 12Â – Omaha – TBA
July 13Â – Columbia – Cafe Berlin
July 14Â – Carbondale – House Show
July 15Â – Chicago – The Hideout
August 6th – Toronto- Time Festival
August 20Â – Ottawa – Arboretum Festival
* w/ Blue Crime
% w/ Protomartyr, Chastity
Featured Image:Â Arts & Crafts