Dallas Frasca - Sound Painter (01/06/2012)
It’s been a long hard road for Dallas Frasca, but one thing that can be said for this Melbourne three piece, they are fierce, determined and damn tough. After two and half years and a spate of bad luck that almost stopped the release of the album in its tracks, ‘Sound Painter’ is finally revealed in all of its roaring glory.
Recorded in a warehouse shared by a Jewish Community in Brooklyn NYC, mainly on the fly and with vintage gear, ‘Sound Painter’ lays the band’s raw talent bare and proves that rock is definitely still alive and kicking.
Opener ‘All My Love’ is the first release off the album and it’s easy to see why, it’s a cracker of a tune, full of gutsy punch and foot stomping attitude. Dallas unleashes her mighty vocal range into a tale of release from a destructive relationship, as Jeff Curran delivers a sliding guitar hook and Peter McDonald bashes the life out of his drumkit.
‘Coming Home’ is a mass of solid guitar riffage with slight country edges, pulled together by the low and lingering sound of Dallas’ voice as she embraces the sense of familiarity and joy of moving back to Melbourne. A priest’s chant at the end of the track ties it into the next angst driven number ‘Better Without You’, which descends into a distorted blues frenzy laden with muted screams.
‘Birds of Wisdom’ is a dark heavy jewel on this album, it moves between stormy and pure tones, allowing Dallas’ voice to rise and fall with it. ‘Going Back Row’ is full of soulful swagger punctuated by a sexy guitar line whilst ‘Freedom’ lays on lazy southern rock style at a slower pace, as a story of betrayal unravels in the lyrics.
The senses are heightened once more in the all out rock fury and in you face attitude of ‘Anything Left To Wonder’, jagged riffs jostle amongst screeching solos as Dallas defiantly states ‘you will have to punch me harder, to knock me down’. Closing track ‘Aint No Fury’ is another gem, written for a good friend and heard in its entirety in India by Dallas, it resonates with support, hope and strength in the aftermath of a difficult time of change, with its simple acoustic sound, full backing vocal and well placed country twang.
It seems more and more artists are going back to basics, where recording is simple, live and in the moment. Whether it’s a sense of doing away with the pressure of over analysing or over producing something, or the rush of putting themselves out there in a really exposed way, it’s a welcome change and one that has yet to be proven to me as a bad thing.
Dallas Frasca has gone through a cathartic experience, exposing all of her emotions in an amazing display of strength, confidence and abandon. The band have ripped into the core of good honest rock, creating an array of vibrant, brash and brilliant sounds that make ‘Sound Painter’ a true diamond in the rough.
Nazia Hafiz
Recorded in a warehouse shared by a Jewish Community in Brooklyn NYC, mainly on the fly and with vintage gear, ‘Sound Painter’ lays the band’s raw talent bare and proves that rock is definitely still alive and kicking.
Opener ‘All My Love’ is the first release off the album and it’s easy to see why, it’s a cracker of a tune, full of gutsy punch and foot stomping attitude. Dallas unleashes her mighty vocal range into a tale of release from a destructive relationship, as Jeff Curran delivers a sliding guitar hook and Peter McDonald bashes the life out of his drumkit.
‘Coming Home’ is a mass of solid guitar riffage with slight country edges, pulled together by the low and lingering sound of Dallas’ voice as she embraces the sense of familiarity and joy of moving back to Melbourne. A priest’s chant at the end of the track ties it into the next angst driven number ‘Better Without You’, which descends into a distorted blues frenzy laden with muted screams.
‘Birds of Wisdom’ is a dark heavy jewel on this album, it moves between stormy and pure tones, allowing Dallas’ voice to rise and fall with it. ‘Going Back Row’ is full of soulful swagger punctuated by a sexy guitar line whilst ‘Freedom’ lays on lazy southern rock style at a slower pace, as a story of betrayal unravels in the lyrics.
The senses are heightened once more in the all out rock fury and in you face attitude of ‘Anything Left To Wonder’, jagged riffs jostle amongst screeching solos as Dallas defiantly states ‘you will have to punch me harder, to knock me down’. Closing track ‘Aint No Fury’ is another gem, written for a good friend and heard in its entirety in India by Dallas, it resonates with support, hope and strength in the aftermath of a difficult time of change, with its simple acoustic sound, full backing vocal and well placed country twang.
It seems more and more artists are going back to basics, where recording is simple, live and in the moment. Whether it’s a sense of doing away with the pressure of over analysing or over producing something, or the rush of putting themselves out there in a really exposed way, it’s a welcome change and one that has yet to be proven to me as a bad thing.
Dallas Frasca has gone through a cathartic experience, exposing all of her emotions in an amazing display of strength, confidence and abandon. The band have ripped into the core of good honest rock, creating an array of vibrant, brash and brilliant sounds that make ‘Sound Painter’ a true diamond in the rough.
Nazia Hafiz