With hundreds of new releases out in the past 24 hours, it’s no wonder that music publications are finding it hard to handle the onslaught. Big week for the recording industry apparently – it may or may not have something to do with artists’ need to launch their releases now specifically in order to accord with funding time specifications. Whatever the cause, we’re glad that it didn’t prevent us from appreciating (and now sharing with you) the new ‘Zen Ghost’ album from the eclectic surprise-bearing duo known as Frenchy and the Punk. All in all, this is Fab, Fun and Frantic music.
Timed to celebrate their 24th anniversary as a band, this is effectively their seventh long-player record. Released via the EA Recordings label, this follows the high energy lead single ‘Mon Souvenir’ and Siouxsie-esque single ‘Come In and Play’.
Dark times make for dark songs. On ‘Zen Ghost’, the duo’s shadowy sound takes an even darker turn. An inward spin, into the pair’s previously unexplored personal planes and interpretations of the insanity of our increasingly tumultuous age. But despite its more pronounced moodiness, like the rest of the band’s oeuvre, ‘Zen Ghost’ offers plenty of opportunities to dance in the darkness. Standout tracks include ‘Mon Souvenir’, ‘If the World Doesn’t End First’, ‘Come In and Play’, ‘Church of Sound’ and ‘Blood’.
Frenchy and the Punk is vocalist, percussionist and lyricist Samantha Stephenson and guitarist-composer Scott Helland, who was co-founder and bassist of Outpatients and also Deep Wound (along with Dinosaur Jr. founders J Mascis and Lou Barlow). Influenced by The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Blondie, Concrete Blonde and The B52’s, the duo thrive in their trademark blend of post-punk and dark folk music.
“We started writing Zen Ghost at the end of 2020 and have a few tracks that were written as recently as Spring 2022. It highlights the darker tones of what we do and is influenced by the environment in which we all live in at the moment,” says Samantha Stephens.
“The core theme to the album is ‘mind phantoms,’ the ghosts of our past that reside in our minds and can influence our present. The theme of breaking the chains of life choices that don’t align with one’s true authentic self has been rampant in the lyrics throughout the years. This record delves into the remnants of the voices and experiences that can still haunt us. This is the album we’ve always wanted to make.”
Tapped as one of the Top 25 duos in the US by Yahoo! Music, the freewheeling pair has released numerous recordings, including the acclaimed albums ‘Happy Madness’ (2010), ‘Hey Hey Cabaret’ (2012), ‘Elephant Uproar’ (2013), ‘Cartwheels’ (2014), ‘Bonjour Batfrog’ (2014), and ‘Hooray Beret’ (2019).
French-born, but raised in the UK and USA, Stephenson’s study of piano and dance ignited her eventual rejection of corporate conformity and fueled a quest to lead a truly autonomous life through art and music. A son of jazz-loving teachers, Helland grew up in Western Massachusetts and was a vital player on the region’s fertile early hardcore punk scene.
Helland and Stephenson met in NYC in 1998, when Stephenson spontaneously jumped on stage to accompany Helland during his solo guitar performance. The artistic union was immediate, powerful and undeniable. The two began to tour with fevered zeal, turning heads with their striking aesthetic, steadily building fervent fans on the mystical-folk/steampunk festival, coffeehouse, convention, and club circuits with their boisterous, revival-like live shows.
Over the years, they’ve performed live with Dead Can Dance’s Peter Ulrich and Dresden Dolls’ Brian Viglione, and opened for Thomas Dolby, Dinosaur Jr., The World Inferno Friendship Society, Rasputina, Cruxshadows, Hurray For The Riff Raff and The Young Dubliners.
As of October 28, the ‘Zen Ghost’ LP can be found across fine digital outlets, including Apple Music, Spotify andBandcamp. It is also available on CD via the band’s website.
CREDITS
All songs written by Samantha Stephenson and Scott Helland
Samantha Stephenson – lyrics, lead vocal, percussion, keyboard
Scott Helland – guitar, bass, drums, backing vocals
Jason Sarubbi – upright bass on ‘Church of Sound’
Braxton Bellew – additional electric bass on ‘Church of Sound’
Recorded & mixed by Jason Sarubbi at Split Rock Studios, New Paltz, NY
Mastered at The Cage, Coventry UK by Martin Bowes
Cover photo by Alice Teeple
Pen and ink drawings by Scott Helland
Album cover design by Scott Helland and Samantha Stephenson
Artist photos by Alice Teeple
TOUR DATES
Oct 28 Baltimore, MD – FaerieCon
Dec 2 Camden/London – Black Heart (with Before Victoria & Flesh Tetris)
Dec 6 Edinburgh, UK – The Wee Red Bar
Dec 10 Exeter, UK – Yule Ball (with Professor Elemental)
Feb 4/5 Manchester, CT – Stupid Cupid Steampunk Festival
Feb 18/19 Gettsyburg, PA – MythiCon Festival
April 01 Galveston, TX – Galveston Steampunk Festival
April 8-9 Baltimore, MD – Between The Worlds
April 15/16 Chicago, IL – Chicago Steampunk Expo
April 22/23 Apex, NC – Festival of Legends
Follow, support and fan out over Frenchy and the Punk
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