It must have been difficult for a band comprised of two English and two Swedish women to survive lockdown in two different countries, but Jen, Fanny, Zoë and Lex of The Franklys came through it intact and have at last come out of it with a second album, a mere six years after their stunning debut Are You Listening? dropped. To say it’s been ‘long awaited’ by a legion of fans is a considerable understatement. But now Dogma is here, there’s plenty to be overjoyed about, even though the joy has been tempered with the news that no sooner has it hit the racks than the quartet has decided to put itself on hold for the foreseeable future, and with no definite plans to come back. This is bad news for a scene that has already missed them so much since the pandemic decimated live music, and even worse news for the rooms full of people that will miss their dynamic, compelling stage presence in 2023 and possibly beyond.
On their own website the Franklys describe Dogma as “an energetic, powerful journey from garage rock to surf to psychedelia and back again”. Which is pretty much the perfect summation of its 8 blistering tracks, all of which show that the enforced lay off has done nothing to dilute their audio ferocity or their take-no-prisoners approach to making music. Jen Ahlqvist’s feral scream is matched throughout by an impenetrable wall of wailing from Fanny Broberg’s savage guitar, and you won’t need me to tell you that the rock hard rhythm section of bassist (and LOUD WOMEN contributor) Zoë Biggs and drummie Lexi Clark and not just along for the ride and that their solid underpinning of their Swedish bandmates is to be admired and adored in equal measure.
You may already have heard Dogma‘s debut single ‘Before You Hit The Ground’ – a proper pop song dressed up in a swirling mass of metallic riffs and VERY LOUD drum punishment. It’s one of the most impressive tracks of the past few months and starts the album on a high that never dips, and at a pace then never really quits.
The catchy ‘Mess’ is anything but, and the track that gives the album its title offers a tantalizing glimpse of what The Go-Go’s might have sounded like if they had amalgamated with Deep Purple. The end of side one arrives with the second single ‘Blind Loyalty’ where the tempo briefly cools but the drama remains high and the Franklys wall of sound never crumbles even for a second. Tellingly, the video features only Jen and Lexi in something of a preview of forthcoming attractions (see below)…
Flip it over and ‘Your Imagination’. ‘Nobody Else’ and ‘Terroriser’ are a trio of right bangers that typify everything we love about the Franklys, with Fanny’s scalding, slashing guitar dominating the proceedings and going head to head with Jen’s voice in the attention-grabbing stakes. The set’s closer ‘Did It End’ is, essentially, a heavy metal ballad that brings a stunning musical enterprise to an end in a reflective manner. What it lacks in playing time with just 8 tracks, It more than makes up for in overall quality. Sometimes less really IS more…
Dogma is a truly thrilling album, and one that needs to be heard loud and often. Sadly you will get just one opportunity to hear it live – for the foreseeable future at least – at the band’s LOUD WOMEN-hosted LP launch at The Lexington, in London, on 16 March. An immediate, indefinite and possibly permanent hiatus will follow, during which time Jen and Lexi will pursue their side project Safari Inn and Fanny and Zoe will presumably do whatever takes their fancy. It’s such a shame that such a great band are stepping out of the picture at such a crucial time in their career, and with such a great record to remember them by. Perhaps if enough of us come down to cheer them on at the Lexington, they might be persuaded to stick around a bit longer and play a few more shows (please…)
I don’t like to insert myself into a review as a rule, but I’d like to go on record as saying that I owe a debt of gratitude to the Franklys that I can never repay. A few years back I went to see US band the Pandoras at the Shacklewell Arms, and the Franklys were one of the two supports. I knew all about the Pandoras, but little about a new scene that I would soon immerse myself in after I saw the Franklys a few more times and started checking out their support bands – and, in time the support bands of their support bands as my rekindled passion for all the great music that was happening around me grew and grew. The Franklys provided me with an important entry point to a scene that is my abiding passion. I can’t begin to count how many hours I have subsequently spent watching bands as a result of seeing them back in 2016, but they are fully to blame for everything I’ve done since. In the nicest possible way, of course…
“Dogma” is released on February 17th. The official album launch at the Lexington, with support from Hussy and Ms. Mohammed is on March 16th. Tickets are available now and selling fast:
LOUD WOMEN 