THE DRIVING FORCE OF THE NEW GLASGOW INDIE SCENE

SINGLE REVIEW | THE FROWNS – WASTED by Emma Carrington

Glasgow band, The Frowns have released their new single ‘Wasted’ this past week, their sixth single to come out since their debut ‘Pass Away‘ in October 2022.

The group credit their influence to the early 2000’s New York music scene (I can only assume The Strokes had an influence, which is audibly obvious) and lyricist, Lloyd Jackson states that his love hate relationship with Glasgow City as a further inspiration musically.

‘Wasted‘ leans into a mix of indie rock and a post-punk vibe. The guitar riffs are sharp and catchy throughout the whole song, really driving forwards that early 2000’s NYC style of music with energy that is hard to emulate and The Frowns do this perfectly. Keeping with that post-punk theme the song has that edge that many indie bands try (and fail) to emulate, really showcasing the bands sound and keeping the feel of the music to be raw and unpolished- yet unapologetically itself.

Although it’s not the song’s strongest point, I did enjoy the tracks lyrics. With themes of romantic struggle I felt as though it was glaringly obvious what the song was about, not leaving much to the imagination. I suppose this comes down to personal opinion, however, I personally enjoy more thought provoking lyrics. Regardless, this did not take away from the lead singer’s beautiful voice, nor the bands raw talent.

The Frowns have been receiving buzz on social media recently, causing a stir on the Glasgow local music scene. I’m excited to see where the band go from here after making their first headlining show at King Tuts Wah-Wah Hut this past year. It’s inspiring seeing Glasgow having a thriving music scene and bands like The Frowns are really the driving force of that. I will (and I suggest all readers do too!) be tuning in to see what they come out with next.