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Franklin Zoo

Franklin Zoo EP

Written by: BV on 31/10/2012 14:49:14

Franklin Zoo is an energetic and ambitious hard-rock band from Copenhagen. During the last few years, they have played a ton of gigs and honed their craft as songwriters in preparation of their first release. Their self-titled EP can be seen as a preview of their upcoming full-length album, which will be released in 2013. The sound of the band is obviously inspired by the Seattle Grunge scene of the 90’s, and they do seem to try their best to follow in the footsteps of Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and similar bands, but they do it well. The style of the band is nowhere near original but that doesn’t matter as long as the songwriting works, which it does. The best example of this, the track called “Cunt” is a no-bullshit hard-rock song with all that goes with it. The vocals are hard hitting, the guitars are delightfully chunky in their sound and there is a nice and steady rhythm-groove by the drums and the bass throughout the song.

This formula for the songwriting seems to go on through the entire EP, seeing that the songs seem to follow the same kind of groove, but I rather like it, since it provides some solid consistency throughout most of the EP. You get exactly what you would expect from a heavily grunge/hard rock inspired band. The most surprising part of the EP for me is the track “Save Our Soldiers”, which opens in an almost psychedelic manor with a crunchy riff and some cool swirly tones – and not to mention an incredible guitar-solo. The theme of the song was perhaps the most surprising part of the track for me, seeing as I personally associate this genre with a “fuck it all!” kind of attitude – an attitude I seriously do not hear in this track, which is actually a good thing in my opinion.

To sum it up; this is a solid first release from a band I’m very much looking forward to hearing more from. I am especially anxious to see if they can make a full release of the same standard or perhaps even higher, seeing as there are still some issues I would like to address. Even though their EP “only” contains 5 tracks, it does get a bit monotonous when the songwriting is as consistent as it is. Consistency is a good thing, but sometimes I would like to hear some more daring, perhaps adventurous tracks – for example tracks like “Save Our Soldiers” which has steadily become my personal favorite from this EP due to its semi-psychedelic opening and general vibe. But all in all, this is a favorable record for grunge and hard rock lovers.

Download: Save Our Soldiers, Cunt, Round n’ Round
For The Fans Of: Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam
Listen: facebook.com

Release Date 03.05.2012
Self-Released