Search - Frausdots :: Couture Couture Couture

Passion is a fashion

alexander laurence | Los Angeles, CA | 02/08/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Frausdots is an LA band that has been playing around a lot. The mastermind behind the band is Brent Rademaker who played with Beachwood Sparks and The Tyde. Whereas those bands were into Psychedelic rock and Gram Parsons, this new band is obsessed with new wave. "Dead Wrong" sounds like the first New Order album. Rademaker has said that this is the record he wanted to make since high school. "Fashion Dead Trends" is more like early U2, although the vocals are different. "The Extremist" is more like his previous bands. "A Go-See" deals with models seeing photographers. This is about fashion, right? Some music here seems inspired by Joy Division and some by The Doors. This album peters out at the end a little bit. "Tomorrow's Sky" is a wonderful song to end with. Rademaker has a cast of characters around him to make interesting things happen. Hopefully Frausdots sticks around for a while. What are Frausdots?

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In the city, I can't remember my name

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 04/06/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If the Doors had played new wave, they might have sounded a bit like the Frausdots. That seems to be the idea for Brent Rademaker, who worked in the Tyde and psychedelic-folk band Beachwood Sparks. "Couture Couture Couture" is a fun, swoony new-wave experience, though it never quite pulls itself together.



"Lived in the city/in a street with no name/it felt good to be/out in the rain," Rademaker intones hollowly over a rising wave of synthy goodness. Electric guitars and faint percussion kick in, but the new wave swoops are what come to the forefront, securing the sound for the rest of the album.



Guitar pop takes control of several songs after that, giving a grittier, less clubby sound to the music, like "A Go See," a mass of sleazy guitars and passionate drumming. Fortunately by the time of "Current Bedding," that oddness has returned, complete with electric organ and poppy, offbeat melodies.



It's a sort of mad collage of classic rock'n'roll, new wave and club pop. Sometimes the puzzle pieces fit seamlessly, and sometimes it feels like they were pasted together just to achieve... The Sound. But Rademaker and his musical partner Michelle Loiselle have a good idea in mind, creating some new-wave rock/dancepop that has the potential to garner all sorts of fans.



Basically, it's very lush, complex pop music without a great deal of depth. There are moments of unalloyed brilliance, such as the swirling "The Man Who Dreaded Sundown," or the soaring chorus of the first song. But more often than not, it's straightforward guitar pop dressed up in new wave finery -- fun and sometimes catchy, but not a lot more.



Rademaker's voice shows how much he cares about the music -- though his voice often sounds hollow and distant, he can twist it into dark glee, angsty longing, and mild boredom. Good job there. Sometimes he does all three emotions in one song, suddenly going from gleeful to melancholy in one song.



The Frausdots create some interesting pop, which sounds a bit like classic rock reworked with some wicked analog. A fun effort, and hopefully their future efforts will be even better."