The group’s
live shows typically draw from material off their two most recent albums, but the
Front Bottoms have five full-lengths in all. Fan requests for older songs as
well as the recent passing of drummer Mat Uychich’s grandmother prompted the
release of the Rose EP. The EP is a
tribute to Mat’s grandmother Rosemary, and the majority of its six tracks are
new takes on old Front Bottoms’ material. Songs are drawn from the band’s first
three LPs I Hate My Friends, My Grandma
Vs. Pneumonia, and Brothers Can’t Be
Friends. These three albums never saw commercial release, but they do
circulate around the internet for free.
The updated
tracks on Rose at heart are the same
classic Front Bottoms material, but add slicker production and new
instrumentation. Originally, these songs were recorded with acoustic guitar,
drums, and piano. The band has since added a bassist and an electric guitarist.
Rose incorporates these new
instruments into the old songs and the resulting sound is similar to their 2013
album Talon of the Hawk. Opening
track “Flying Model Rockets,” for example, features lead electric guitar breaks,
driving bass, and a cleaner, less lo-fi sound overall. “Flying Model Rockets”
and several other tracks on the EP feel faster than the original versions, and
this leads to the Rose EP’s main
problem: the speed.
The speed of most tracks on this
release is just frantic, and not in a good way. “Be Nice To Me” and “Lipstick
Covered Magnet” in particular suffer as the Front Bottoms plow towards the end
of the song like they have somewhere they would rather be. The band’s lyrics
are typically sung in rapid-fire succession, and speeding these tracks up even
more makes the music feel rushed and unfulfilling.
That’s not
to say Rose is a train wreck. “Jim
Bogart” is a great update of the classic track that adds a melancholy trumpet
line to vocalist Brian Sella’s refrain of “Sometimes things just don’t work
out,” and the song is not rushed like many others on the EP.
 |
| The Front Bottoms' Brian Sella performing in Pensacola, Florida at The Handlebar. |
Rose
further redeems itself with the closer “Awkward Conversations.” The track
is a brand new song, not too fast, and performed with just vocals and an
acoustic guitar. Sella sings the vivid chorus of “I personally think its too
cold to have the windows open / But you want to smoke your menthol cigarettes”
over his signature thick power chords reminiscent of the band’s early albums. Ironically,
the only new song on this EP sounds more like old Front Bottoms material than
the updated old songs.
A lot of
fans will likely be unhappy with the Rose
EP because these updated tracks fail to do the originals justice. It is
more than just nostalgia for the past that keeps these tracks from greatness. This
release was recorded with a different lineup than the song’s original
conception, and they just do not translate as well to this new setup.
Quality aside, it’s great the band
now has a way to make some money off these songs that were originally free. Hopefully
this is a sign The Front Bottoms will be dipping into their back catalogue as
they choose setlists for upcoming shows. These are still some great songs, but the Rose EP is just not the best available version of them.
Score: 2/4
The Rose EP is streaming now at Red Bull’s website. CD copies will be available from Bar/None Records on June 17th, and
vinyl release is scheduled for August 16th.
