Even if you weren’t a fan of his previous solo endeavours with The Celebration or The Patience, 'Barriers' takes a step toward a new direction for one of the stalwarts of the music scene, giving listeners something new and exciting to delve into.
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A step in a new direction
By: Rachel D’Arcy
Best songs: Six Feet Down Under, Fever Dream, Medicine Square Garden
Frank Iero is an imaginative sort of man, with a deeply inquisitive mind. It’s something that has been explored in previous musical lifetimes but comes to the fore on his most recent release, Barriers.
The first record to be unveiled under his new band name, Frank Iero and the Future Violents, a gospel-style, slightly haunting organ opens 14 explosive tracks capturing that imagination, that thoughtful mind to a tee.
“Don’t be sad, leave the past in the past” is a standout lyric on album opener “A New Day’s Coming,” capturing a mood that has been prevalent throughout Iero’s solo releases. A poignancy to his thinking, Barriers is a piece of art that paints an all too familiar feeling of low-key existentialism with a raw, frayed edge.
Iero is a man who’s past does not define him, who’s position as one of the most noted musicians of recent times is defined in each work he releases to the world. Barriers via UNFD, in sound is reminiscent of something almost underground, not a whole world away from previous works but undoubtedly captures a specific moment in Iero’s musical career.
The listener is taken from a lazy river in terms of tone and tempo to an all out metalesque riff on “Medicine Square Garden” before a rougher edge takes a turn on “Six Feet Down Under” – a reference to Iero’s 2016 near-fatal crash in Australia, Barriers being his first release since the incident.
Heavy on the guitar, the track listing is a perfect flow throughout to the point where you nearly feel taken on a musical experience. Things ramp up to a solid ten on the guitar driven “Fever Dream,” encapsulating the album’s essence – original grunge with a uniquely Iero lyricism and vocal.
Working with guitarist and long-time musical partner Evan Nestor, bassist Matt Armstrong, drummer Tucker Rule, and Kayleigh Goldsworthy on piano, organ and violin, the instrumental on the album is as strong as it’s lyrical content in a dynamic sense, keeping things interesting enough to reward a second or third listen.
In saying that, Barriers is a record that needs a listen or two to appreciate it in its finest form, to respect the lyricism and the story Iero intends to tell. It delivers a new meaning, a new air with each listen, with a different track managing to be a stand out favourite each time.
Even if you weren’t a fan of his previous solo endeavours with The Celebration or The Patience, Barriers takes a step toward a new direction for one of the stalwarts of the music scene, giving listeners something new and exciting to delve into.
