New York – It’s hard to discuss Frank Iero’s latest endeavor without mentioning the My Chemical Romance split early last year. The emo act was held deep in the hearts of most misunderstood adolescents and the breakup displaced all those dramatic feelings. What band was your inner angry teenager going to listen to now? Then MCR’s rhythm guitarist/backup vocalist Frank Iero announced the formation of Frnkiero and the Cellabration and the release of his debut, Stomachaches.
The band’s first full-length isn’t a far cry from the sound MCR cultivated over the course of its career. Stomachaches has that familiar edge to it and seems driven in the same way by anger and emotion. Fans of Iero’s past act will be pleased to hear the similarities in his solo effort. However, the band does forge new ground. Their sound is more punk than emo. The opening track, “All I Want Is Nothing,” is a soup of distorted vocals and guitar that is just plain fun. Jarrod Alexander’s drumming adds needed a punch and gives the sound more shape.
The next track, “Weighted,” is the album’s lead single and rightfully so. With a catchy bassline and the most upbeat lyrics (“let’s learn to laugh at ourselves again”) on the record, the track is palatable to most and makes sense as the album’s ambassador to the world.
It’s followed up by “Blood Infections,” which finds the same heavy distortion as “All I Want Is Nothing.” More attention is given to the guitar in this track, but without adding too much pomp and circumstance and distraction to the cumulative sound. The recurring themes of relationships and interpersonal what have you are reminiscent of MCR. Not every song is about a breakup or relationship, but “She’s the Prettiest Girl at the Party, And She Can Prove It With a Solid Right Hook” definitely is. With lines like “I’d rather not miss out on us / cause your face is all I need to stay sane,” it’s the clearest love song on the album. And sure to make an appearance on middle school mixtapes come fall. The song is also a well-timed break from all the fuzz and fervor. It’s a touch slower than the others and more stripped back. “Stage 4 Fear of Trying” is another drop in tempo that features Iero and a heavily distorted, palm-muted guitar.
The grit is picked right back up with the haunting and bitter sounding “Stitches.” The track is less formulaic than those that preceded it, finding the chaotic side of the album’s sound. However, it does sound perfectly at home on Stomachaches, especially with the rhyme scheme and unrelenting bass. “Joyriding” is unexpectedly more electronic, but has that same potent end rhyme. The intermittent crackle of the electronic drum gives the song another dimension and adds an almost mechanic sound to the mix. The majority of the album is guitar, bass, drums and vocals with little disruption, so this addition, necessary or not, does briefly change things up. There are hints of the same genre-defying electronics during the opening of “Smoke Rings.” The track finds the mid-ground between the feedback-like electronics and the screaming vocals of the previous track, “Tragician.”
“Tragician” is the track that grows on you. It feels a little like a MCR track, perhaps because lines like “I am the world’s worst” bring back those teenage feelings of hopelessness. The track is sure to be beloved by the kids who wear all-black. The following song, “Neverenders,” has the screaming vocals that Iero was known for in his role of MCR’s back-up vocalist. It’s another angry song that will help convert MCR fans. The same can be said about “Guilttripping,” a slower burn that the angry anthems of Stomachache. This is continued for “Where Do We Belong? Anywhere But Here” but with a bigger sound and more success. All the elements worked in over the course of Stomachaches come into play here. The emotion, the distortion and the strained vocals all find space in this darker, deeper song. It’s a grand finish.
Overall, the album hits with a consistent intensity. The sound eases off at the right moments, but always comes back swinging with the same ferocity. Thematically it plays into the “I’m so misunderstood/I don’t want to grow up” mentality that most folk have buried in themselves somewhere. At times the dedication to this message seems a little much, but if the aim of the album is to emote and empathize then it hits right on the mark. In that way the album serves a purpose; it gives listeners a chance to feel like a teenager again. It’s a new age emo that you can bang your head too. It also gives you something to do with all that anger you’ve been carrying around about the MCR breakup.
Zoe Marquedant
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