Debut albums excite me! New music always gives me a lift and helps reinvigorate my love for the underground scene. I have been immersing myself in so much post-rock and post-metal of late, that hearing something fresh, and a little unconventional and unorthodox is a welcome distraction. French modern hardcore outfit, Fragile landed on my lap courtesy of Clement Duboscq of Vous Connaissez, and this is just the tonic I needed! Intoxicated with shots of 90’s punk and 00’s emo, About Going Home is punch drunk in attitude, melody, and a feel-good factor that screams warm summer sessions and idle hours of carefree revelry.
Like a giant porous sponge, Fragile have soaked up so much inspiration from almost four decades of underground music, that they are bursting at the seams with ideas, and they’re not afraid to lay it all on the line with this fantastic debut release. About Going Home is music to share with friends, music to get lost in, and ultimately, music to unleash one’s inhibitions.
Messy Hair opens the album with snappy and unforgettable post-punk inspired rants, along with indie driven guitars reminiscent of The Strokes and Sonic Youth. It’s short, sharp, and dripping in attitude, and is the perfect track to mark their arrival. Grungy at times with those Smashing Pumpkins drum patterns, Selfless continues the trip down memory lane. It’s gritty vocals and catchy guitar hooks are a joy to listen to, and who doesn’t love sing-along chants to lift the spirits!
Placebo influences ring clear in Winter At The Museum, with those uplifting rhythmic passages, but that’s where the similarities end, because Fragile have already stamped their own identity on their music with those glorious chants and a composure that’s well above their years. Every track on this record is like Velcro, they stick and bury themselves deep in your subconscious, so that when you play this album for the second time, it feels like you’ve known these tracks for years! A sign of a great album, I think you’ll agree.
Tracks like Murmuration bring another dynamic to the table with its slow and patient build before breaking into moments of emo angst and shoegazing fuzziness which blend and contrast perfectly. The final track, Model, brings the album to a close with some really cool bass lines and a groove-driven passage of music that gives the track that “bounce on the dancefloor” vibe. It harnesses all the emotion and power that is generated through being with friends, and I’ve no doubt it will become the soundtrack to a very memorable summer.
With a release date of June 9th, via Twenty Something Label, Fragile have just given you the album that will define the next few months!