The Frights: You Are Going To Hate This Review

By Sawyer Stull
Music Journalist

Artist: The Frights
Album: You Are Going To Hate This
Release Date: February 12, 2016
Website: http://www.thefrights.com/home.html

The Frights are a three-piece surf-punk, dirty doo-wop band from San Diego, California. The band was originally formed as a joke with the purpose of getting together and playing one 30-minute set and then breaking up. The so-called joke worked a little too well and the group of friends ended up forming into a real band in 2012. They were signed to a local label after playing a gig while they were home from college that winter break to showcase the songs they had been writing. Shortly into 2013 the band released their first EP Dead Beach and a follow up a few months later titled Fur Sure. By the end of 2013 the band released their self-titled debut album.

In 2015, the band landed a deal with indie label Dangerbird Records to begin work on their second album. After asking Zac Cooper, of the band FIDLAR, to take them on tour with his band, he made them the deal that he would instead produce their next album for them. You Are Going To Hate This is the band’s second album, which was released at the beginning of 2016. The album under a new label and with Zac Cooper on the boards producing it has a much more polished modern sound than the band’s previous works.

The album starts fast with the opening track “All I Need”, which is my personal favorite track off the album. The song features a fast paced and high-energy opening and verses throughout that build up and drop off into a soft chorus that features only lyrics and a very groovy bass line. The song is a great example of the theme of the album which is about change and growing up with lyrics such as “Is this what I’m supposed to do?” The third track “Afraid of the Dark” is an example where the band branches off and tries new things such as cutting out the reverb. It’s still a great song that feels like something you would hear from a band like Beach Fossils.

The following track “Puppy Knuckles” is another great track where the band really slows things down and keeps things very simple instrumentally yet somehow the track feels huge and heavy. The band credits the sound they got directly to the production work from Zac Cooper. The next track “Tungs” is a similar story in that both “Tungs” and “Puppy Knuckles” were originally released as singles together back in 2014. The album keeps pace throughout and then ends on a high note with the album’s self-titled track “You Are Going To Hate This” which was the first official single off the album. It is fast paced chaotic punk rock from start to finish. The song title is kind of a joke for their fans because the band believed that of all the songs on the album this is the track that their fans would like most.

You Are Going To Hate This is a great second album and a big musical step forward for the band. This album is perfect for anyone that is a fan of any type of surf or punk music, especially those that are fans of bands like FIDLAR, Beach Fossils or the Tijuana Panthers. All of The Frights’ works are available to stream on Spotify or you can purchase and stream it on their bandcamp.