by Jacob Millay
Francisco the Man has been playing since 2010, but their first full length album,“Loose Ends” was released on Oct. 27, 2014. With the first full length, the band is setting out on a tour along the west coast of America. That tour will bring them right here to Spokane to play a show at the Bartlett on Dec. 6.
The band hails from Los Angeles and they have released several EPs and singles, but Loose Ends is their first full album. Signed with Fat Possum Records, the band is offering the album as vinyl as well as CD or digital format.
Francisco the Man blends several genres and sensibilities into one smart package. At certain points of their album, the fuzz pedals are kicked on and the drums kick into high gear and the band sounds similar to early punk like The Clash. But other times throughout the album, there are rhythmic melodies and catchy hooks that bring to mind indie pop bands of the early 2000’s. The band blends these two lines very easily and can bring both sounds to listeners.
However, the band is not afraid to fade into some ethereal noise through reverb. The first track called “You & I” kicks off with a fade in through feedback and noise, which fits into shoegaze or garage rock genres or even some other noisy indie rock bands. Think Youth Lagoon with more electric guitar and drums.
The band is not afraid to push the boundaries or jump into different categories. They drift through several different sounds, but at the core they give the same punk-indie performance throughout the album.
The show at the Bartlett should not be missed. It would not be surprising to see this band go on to bigger and better things in the future, so why not see them now?