Frenzal Rhomb - Forever Malcolm Young
(2006)

Review by Max Roach

Frenzal Rhomb are back...Again! The follow up to the awesome "Sans Souci" is an album so full of the energetic Aussie punk that these guys have become so revered for.

The album opens up with one of the bands most serious tracks...ever, Forever Malcolm Young, and leads straight into classic Frenzal - with the cheeky Graham "Abo" Henry - yet another hilariously inventive track. This leads in perfectly to the extremely short, but to the point, ditty Johnny Ramone Was In A F***ing Good Band But He Was A C**t.

These guys really know how to pack tunes into a CD, with twenty tracks - none of which break the 3 minute mark - there are some  beautifully orchestrated smashing songs on here. They also know how to cover ground with their lyrics, with references as diverse as not taking medication, killing pets, predictive text, not being thirteen and thinking things were cool, to even stating that red wine and altar boys won't ease a troubled mind. It really doesn't miss a beat, let's face it - these guys have never disappointed before and have delivered their most entertaining album yet with "Forever Malcom Young".

With greater publicity than Frenzal have ever had (front-men Jason Whalley and Lindsay McDougal have been teamed up on Triple J's morning program for the last couple of years), plus the current tour over Oz at the moment;  we will hopefully we be seeing some more of the outrageous shenanigans which we are privy to on the bonus DVD that comes with the album (an extra which just about seems to come with every CD release these days).

I caught the band recently playing at the Corner on Saturday the 9th of December, coming on stage to crowd chanting and taunting. But no matter what the audience threw at the boys - there was no delay into ripping into some good old Frenzal classics, much to the dismay of most of the front row of the crowd. With a set list spanning their punk rock careers some favorites included Russell Crowe, Mum Changed The Locks, as well as some new favorites in Cruelty To Animals and F**k You and Your F***in Emo Band.

With the great stage presence and showmanship these guys have, they seem to have no trouble responding to the various  screams  and heckles from the crowd with humorous retorts (they make Noel Gallagher look like Adam Hills!). 

The show had just about everything, complete with crowd surfers - Jason Whalley (lead singer) even got pulled into the crowd and had the microphone stolen off him by a reckless fan (Eg: Me, a bit proud I must say) to sing along to the tunes. There wasn't one dissapointed punter in sight, broken ribs or not.

The new album? Fan-Bloody-Tastic!

RATING: 4.5 out of 5