EP Review: Fräulein - 'Pedestal'
Fraulein deliver an impassioned performance in this new bite-sized EP.
Based in South West London but with their members hailing from Northern Ireland and The Netherlands respectively, Fraulein are an exciting new addition to the British alternative scene. This new EP, ‘Pedestal’ is further proof of this. Fusing modern post-punk aesthetics with 90’s alt-rock riffs, this group of four tracks may be Fraulein’s best work yet in their early career. The EP starts out with ‘Pet’, an irregular drum pattern mixed in with guitars and bass that feel like they are slowly creeping up on you. An unnerving feeling generated gives way to an explosion of a classic 90’s style crunchy guitar riff. Lyrically, the vocalist speaks of her desire to be someone's “teacher's pet”. Such a sentiment may appear cute if presented in a chart friendly pop song, but in this context, the instrumentation serves to give a creepy feel to the lyrics, as if this sort of infatuation is more unhealthy than adorable.
‘Three’, continues the EP along very similar lines. The punchy guitar line smacks you in the face a lot earlier in the song, while “I guess I need three’’ is one of the catchiest hooks on the EP. The theme of longing and idolisation reoccurs from the last track. The introductory guitar, drum and bass patterns very much remind me of a Black Country, New Road song. The tracks themselves are distinct and go in a markedly different direction to most BCNR tunes but there are certainly some noteworthy similarities. ‘Big Cool ', the longest song on the EP is up next (although with all tracks being around the 3 minute mark this isn't saying much). Here, Fraulein does away with any sort of conventional chorus, instead opting for a cry of “I’m Big Cool” before breaking into a dissonant scream. Out of all the EP has to offer, ‘Big Cool’ is what best leads to an ultimate crescendo, as the changing and quickening drums ramp up the tension to match the screams. In particular, I’m a big fan of the claps added towards the end of the track, a minor but necessary detail that further increases the intensity.
Finally, ‘Brand New’ rounds off the four tracks. Featuring my favourite vocal performance of the bunch, “Feeling soft all over” is easily the best opening lyric of all the songs and is an incredibly memorable hook. Overall, I would probably best describe Fraulein’s ‘Pedestal’ EP as intense. The tracks are short and snappy with a crunching guitar riff never far away. The lyrics frequently describe an intense love that describes being, or wanting to be, completely infatuated with someone, putting them on a pedestal if you will. Considering all four songs follow an almost identical structure a little bit more variation may have been appreciated, although at only 12 minutes long this is not the end of world. I’m sure that these songs will go over very well live, owing to the level of noise and excitable qualities that they have. Playing at some very well known venues such as Thekla in Bristol and Rough Trade East in London (amongst others) Fraulein will be sure to pick up many more fans in the near future.
Words by Josh Wilkey
