Berlin based percussionist Eilis Frawley (Party Fears & I Drew Blank) recently released her debut EP ‘Never Too Emotional’ via Reckless Yes Records.
Bold and distinct, Frawley has combined a unique blend of spoken word and the Avant Garde pop of Flying Lizzards and tUnE-yArDs. Despite the left field approach to music and production, Frawley has anchored her lyrics in the hot topics of our time.
On ‘illusions’ she tackles the stresses of projecting our best selves on social media and simultaneously neglecting the nourishment of the soul. Better still, rather than offer clichés about living for the weekend, Frawley offers up a savage indictment of how over worked and pressured we are:
“One free evening and we ruin our livers to forget”
Meanwhile, on ‘intellectual men’, her feminist outlook shines bright. The minute-long intro is a warped and deranged array of synths and emphatic drums. Seemingly the rage boiling within before, Frawley calms herself to deliver a beautifully sarcastic attack on the so called enlightened men.
‘leave the house’, is not for the faint hearted. Frawley deals with mental health and feelings of isolation. As a friend offers advice without any sense of understanding, the anxiousness and loneliness of the protagonist grows more intense.
‘strangers’, no less awkward and innovative with its percussion, offers up the EP’s moment of true beauty. The beauty of the synths, at times, is worthy of rave gods Orbital. This tale of a romance fading is delivered with a truly unique musical outlook.
As is, most of the EP. Frawley is jarring and difficult and that, that is why she is so brilliant and rewarding.