EP Review: Frannkkey

Sinister and sexy,  Frannkkey contains bass vibes so deep they massage the very marrow in your sternum until it shakes out of your pores.

Frank Eggleton is a prolific fixture within the Wellington music scene, being involved in bands and projects like Solo Ono and Tidal Rave. Most recently he’s decided to foray into the territory of dungeon dance music and with collaborator Rory Storm he’s brought us the surrealist synth pop project: Frannkkey.

With an album already on the way, this self-titled EP is a primer for the full Frannkkey experience. Comprising three tracks that together form a waterslide into the basement of electro-dance and out the laundry shoot of depravity in retrograde, Frannkkey provides the kind of fever dream club experience that belongs in an episode of Twin Peaks.

The best introduction to the sound is the first track: You People. It conjures up images of LCD Soundsystem, New Order and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The heart rapping beat underscores the morally relativistic lyrics: “Some people need multiple chances and some people need multiple lovers.” It seems to grind in the cadences of hedonism, but never all the way down to the gut of cynicism. It’s as if Hellraiser’s Pinhead had a sense of humour.

From the welding goggles in a dark club of You People to the endless horizon of Highway, the deep, throaty bass takes on a new connotation. It plays with the vocal hook, swapping melodies back and forth with it. Breezy backing vocals by Kristen Paterson make the song feel like a perfect sonic picture of a road trip. Waves continues the freedom of Highway into a mantra-like trance that culminates in a cosmic swirl of synthy textures and warbling melodies.

Frannkkey will be emerging with a full length album sometime in 2020. It will feature original songs as well as reworks of Kittentank, Solo Ono and Echo Beach songs.