Australian punk rock band Frenzal Rhomb released their tenth studio album, "The Cup of Pestilence," through Fat Wreck Chords. The album was recorded, mixed, and mastered at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado, a studio owned by Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore. The band has already released the lead single from the album, "Where Drug Dealers Take Their Kids," which showcases their characteristic snotty skate punk sound reminiscent of their prime in the '90s—the new album, which clocks in at about 32 minutes, features a total of 19 tracks. Notably, "The Cup of Pestilence" is the first album to include the band's new bassist, Michael "Dal" Dallinger, formerly of Local Resident Failure. This album follows Frenzal Rhomb's last two albums, "Hi Vis High Tea" from 2017 and "Smoko At The Pet Food Factory" from 2011, also recorded at The Blasting Room. Fans in the US and Europe can order the album. Australian fans have several options, including gold vinyl from Artist First, a brown variant from JB Hi-Fi, and an exclusive grey LP with a bonus signed copy of the cover art.
What Worked
Fast, melodic punk rock that stays under two minutes a song for all but three of the nineteen tracks across the new album, the new album is a blast of fresh, unpretentious air. Lead singer Jay Whalley has the prototype voice for this style of music, somewhere between Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 and Joey Cape of Lagwagon in tone, delivery, and clever lyricism, like on lead single "Where Drug Dealers Take Their Kids" and "I Think My Neighbour is Planning to Kill Me."
What Didn't Work
Though only thirty-two minutes, the lack of variety in rhythm and energy from track to track does get a bit tiresome on the latter half of the album. Luckily, there are tracks like "Those People" that will make you laugh or offend you enough to keep you engaged until the end.
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