Album Review: Dead Frenchmen - Wonderland

When I first heard about Dead Frenchmen, I thought “Wow, what a cool name for a band!”. But I was wary. You see, too many times have I allowed myself to be swayed by a band before I’ve heard them, simply by how cool their name is, or how awesome their album art is, or how hot they look. Whatever. I’m superficial. But for once, I’m pleased to announce that Dead Frenchmen are more than just a really cool name. They’re a great band, that’s just released a really cohesive debut album.

When I say ‘cohesive’ I mean that Wonderland is an album that isn’t rough around the edges; it sounds streets ahead of what you’d expect from a debut album, in its song writing, production, and how well-rehearsed the band sound. From listening to Wonderland, you’d easily be mistaken in thinking this was the second or third effort from the band, once they’d had a chance to get their game together and polish things up a little.

Dead Frenchmen have already been (fortunately or unfortunately) garnering the Interpol comparison that so many bands receive, particularly if the vocals sound like the low crooning voice of singer and guitarist Michael Pledger. But the vocals are really the only thing that’s similar to their peers. Together with drummer Greg Doig, and bassist Toby Dundas, the band exhibits none of the NY pretentiousness, and instead exudes a genuine intensity that only comes from a band loving what they do. The trio have managed many great moments on the album, with songs like ‘Passenger’ and ‘Out Of Phase’ sounding fantastic. However, one criticism is that at times it seems that the album lacks variation, with some tracks tending to sound a little too much like the previous one, partly because the levels of the instruments on each track sound exactly the same throughout the album.

Wonderland is a great album as far as debut albums go, and hopefully, if the band tries some new things with their song writing, their sophomore effort will be something to eagerly anticipate.