Gem of the Week: Frente!

My Frente! Albums

Australian pop-acoustic-folk band Frente! is a gem I have dug out from my collection to highlight this week.

I remember the group gained popularity with their acoustic cover of Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order in 1994 and it was such an offbeat cover for the grunge era time.

According to a wiki search the band formed in 1989 and consisted of Simon Austin on guitar, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O’Connor on bass guitar, and Mark Picton on drums.

I haven’t heard anything new from the band since that time but they have a Facebook  band page and are still around and playing shows. However, I did not see anything confirming if the group recorded or released any new material.

My best friend and I loved their cover of Bizarre Love Triangle and we use to wait to hear it on the radio. The music video for the cover was kind of odd too with close up shots of Hart singing while her band members circle her playing their guitars.

I remember also liking Hart’s style. She sported short black hair, a nose ring and had a cool way of dressing by mixing the grunge look with vintage patterns and styles.

The band released one full length studio album titled Marvin The Album which I own but the first album I bought was Labor of Love on cassette.

The tape only had seven songs on it but I bought it then because Bizarre Love Triangle was one of the tracks. I ended up loving all of the songs on that album and it’s now a beat up old tape from listening to it so much. Some great  tracks from that album were Not Given Lightly, Oh Brilliance and of course my favorite song Labor of Love.

Frente! had released a music video for Labor of Love in 1994 too but MTV usually only aired it during  shows for alternative music like 120 minutes.

I think Labor of Love is truly a great song; I love everything about it from the lyrics, breezy soft vocals and lil’ flute solo. I especially love the line:

“And if you want to find me,  Call me, I’ll be far from The cars and guitars and Everybody.”

Marvin The Album is great and it includes Labor of Love too. My favorites from this album are Pretty Friend and Ordinary Angels.

Frente! is a quirky popish acoustic band that you have to listen to a few times to truly appreciate their offbeat strength.

Below is a link from XttraVid You Tube channel for the video of Labor of Love.

Tags: 1994, Angie Hart, Australian pop, Bizarre Love Triangle, Frente!, Labor of Love, Marvin the Album, Not Given Lightly, Oh Brilliance, Ordinary Angles, Pretty Friend