From being isolated both within both our own homes and minds, many of us have emerged from the pandemic as entirely different people than the ones who entered it. In retrospect, that was to be expected; nobody who spends over 600 days in their own head will leave the experience unaltered. Such is the crux of the debut self-titled EP from Frightful Places; a delightfully humble release born from retrospection, laced with the sombre pine-scented woodlands of their native Connecticut.
Created from the deafening silence of the pandemic and the more quiet stillness that comes with working in cafes, bedrooms and on hiking trails, this EP is five songs of vulnerability in the key of 2010s emo revival and intricate, tender fretwork. ‘Old Frame’, the opener, introduces this with the sense of profound exposure that ultimately binds this record as a whole. Reminiscent of the more tender work of acts such as Title Fight, Basement and Tigers Jaw – bands that spearheaded the emo revivalist sound that still endears a decade on – the track marries clean, minimalist riffs with grunge-influenced bass tones and the fluttering vocals of Kevin Tiernan, the brains behind this one person project.
The title track and the aptly titled ‘Still’ follows in similar pursuit in terms of the reticent and introverted minor key tones that characterise this record. Many may dub these as classic ‘sadboi’ motifs, but the sparseness and borderline minimalism ultimately fleshes out a sense of low-pitched worriment that’s far more prominent than that found in the work of similarly labelled bands. Despite this being Tiernan’s first effort under the Frightful Places moniker, they’ve brilliantly demonstrated an understanding of space and balance in their work, proving that when it comes to guitar driven emotion, sometimes less certainly means more. The aforementioned ‘Still’ is a brilliant example of that, especially with its suburban twilight aura reminiscent of American Football.
With that in mind, the final two tracks on this EP contain a sense of impact that comes with juxtaposition. More fleshed out and textured than the rest of the work, ‘Eklund Garden’ and ‘Stuck’ harken thoughts of early Jimmy Eat World and The Early November with their respective classic downtrodden emo swayings – especially with Tiernan’s vocals carrying a flutter not dissimilar to Jimmy Eat World’s Jim Adkins. However, despite these two tracks being more forward and confident than their predecessors, especially in the case of ‘Stuck’, which carries a thorned central riff in the key of classic Bayside, these offerings don’t dilate the sombre and reserved material prior to them. If anything, they only amplify the blanketing sense of introspection and longing through their more altered structures.
In all, whilst the project may still need more time to finalise their sound and differentiate themselves from the slew of other acts specialising in the modern emo art form, the debut comes courtesy of certainly one of the most promising bands to emerge as of late from the scene. Harking back to the halcyon days to the scene amidst modern techniques, this is a charming listen for anyone with even slightest interest in modern American emo.