Rock is more than a four-letter word, it is a message, a statement to which many bands attest to doing, but only a handful of them succeed. The Frauds are one of them. Yes, their name might suggest that they're a group of fakes, but they are not. They claim to bring the rock, and boy, do they ever. Their self-titled debut, originally self-released in 2004, was a homage to their influences: Superdrag, The Who, Guided By Voices, Teenage Fanclub, you name it. Where one song might sound like DIY indie rock, the next can have the appeal of arena rock proportions. With their new album, Hiding Out Loud, the band continues the ethos brought forth on their debut, while branching out and exploring new horizons once untouched. Where the band concoct the same formula as their debut on the lead-off track "Nothing To Say" or the deep cut "I Can See The Light," they branch out and expand with the Beach Boys-esque laden harmonies of "Palm Tree Baby." Grand scales of piano and mellotron give you comfort in "Asphalt Dunegon," and the acoustic guitars wash all the pain away in "Roundtown Rose," while also balancing Loud's ferocious at times demeanor. And lest we forget the bass grooves and barking vocal that make up "Strawberry Soul", a melody that will be trapped in your mind for days. Louder. Softer. However you want them. The Frauds are back. The Frauds are based out of Baltimore, MD, home of Frank Zappa and David Hasselhoff (their two biggest influences). Rick Bowman (guitar, piano, vocals) teams up with brothers Emerson: Eric (bass, vocals) and Ernie Jr. (drums, wrenches) and new addition Jonny Watkins (guitar) to carve out their space among the new legion of DIY indie rockers in the digital age. Rick Bowman tells the story of how an American rock band got their start in St. Petersburg, Russia: “We went over there when we turned 16 for an art exchange. Ernie Jr. and I both used to be heavy into painting and drawing and stuff like that. Arts. Anyway, he was from a part of Maryland that was pretty far from me. We met on a few occasions in Russia with our exchange group and I think he saw me playing air drums to Nirvana songs or something; maybe I saw him, I can't remember. We hung out the rest of the trip and took advantage of the fact that there is no age limit on alcohol and cigarettes in Russia. Whenever we could peddle some beer or a bottle, we got one and usually shared whatever we could swig on. (Funny, it's not that much different today.) Anyway, we lived in St. Petersburg for about 3 weeks, then went to Moscow with the group, painting and drawing along the way. We got wasted in our hotel rooms, and decided that we should form a band when we came home. We did.”
The Church of Seduction - reached # 1 on KIAC Big 50
Nothing To Say This song is about the people who go around telling you one thing, while practicing another. Hypocrites. - reached # 1 on KIAC Big 50
Pull Me Over - reached # 1 on KIAC Big 50
Strawberry Soul This song is about the girl who can't stand to be alone. - reached # 1 on KIAC Big 50
She'll Never Tell The life of a chaser.. - reached # 1 on KIAC Big 50
Give It Up Give It Up is an intentional mismatch of punk and radio pop. Not to be confused with Pop-punk, this tune is more experimental in arrangement and is the first Frauds track to be based around the Rhodes piano and Bass.
I Don't Wanna Know This is a bonus track from the remastered "Frauds" album released by High Wire Music/Fontana in 2006. Like it!
I Can See the Light
Roundtown Rose
To Fall In Love This song rules. That's all there is to it. - reached Top 5 on KIAC Big 50
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