People welcome back Mr Frank Iero and The Future Violence. The 4 track EP Heaven Is A Place, This Is A Place is his latest effort following his last full length album Barriers.
There has been a lot of speculation around this release, especially when 2020 was meant to be the year of MCR. When life gives you lemons Frank makes a nice melancholy glass of lemonade.
Diving into this EP the initial impression was this was a much heavier effort than his previous album, a darker record. Hear us out on this one, imagine Robert Smith from The Cure singing for Taking Back Sunday, and you’re in the right ballpark for opener Violence. Now that might sound like a baffling combination but there are real big Love Cat vibes in the verses.
Track 2 Sewer Wolf is what you came for! Previously released as a single, this is the angst we were expecting. Sludgy, heavy hitting with a soaring melody on top. The dynamics on this EP are sublime, the mixture of heavy and melodic passages are perfect. Kayleigh Goldsworthy really compliments Frank’s vocals, providing harmonies and ear candy you didn’t hear as much on his previous releases.
We knew this EP would be contrasting in sound, but we didn’t expect it to dive off a dynamic cliff and we are not mad about it. Time to crack out the mandolin and dust off the REM cover. Some might say a cover of Losing My Religion is very cliche and it is, however, Frank Iero and friends pull it off, almost making it cool…almost.
Sometimes an obvious title is the best title, Record Ender is the EP closer and it’s a pleasant surprise. Record Ender is the perfect ending track for this EP, combining heavy and melodic angst that has been apparent throughout. Ambient and sonically delightful, a real pleasure to listen to. This track almost feels like it comes from the MCR cutting room floor, but in the best way possible. The hook is guaranteed to be an earworm for days.
On reflection, if this is the type of must Frank Iero is moving towards, it will be welcomed with open arms as a more heavy and melodic effort. Hoping a full length release is on the horizon, this has definitely been one of the best things to come out of 2021… so far. Frank Is Back!
