REVIEWS

Freezepop
Fancy Ultra Fresh

Archenemy Record Company

Posted: Thursday, March 30, 2006
By: Vince Sander

While everyone else is fleeing the electroclash scene as though it were a party that’s run out of beer, Freezepop are staying to make sure that the keg is completely dry even if it means chugging a whole lot of foam. On the one hand, you have to admire a band that sticks to what they love regardless of how they will be perceived. On the other hand, it does make it a bit tough to take the band all that seriously. Then again, Fancy Ultra Fresh is lighthearted fun that has no pretense or expectation of being taken seriously in the first place, so maybe the joke’s on the critics.

The songs are as kitschy and campy as the cover art, a display of several freezepop popsicles of varying colors. FUF’s general formula involves monotone vocals, which are both humorous and slyly satirical, layered on top of simple 80’s dance beats and bleep-blop retro synth lines, most of which are generated on the old school funky Yamaha QY-70. When there is a deeper message it is embedded within a non-threatening silly vehicle. Take for instance the album’s feature track, “I Am Not Your GameBoy.” Obviously vocalist Liz Enthusiastic (my fake name sense is tingling) is delivering a punchy girl power message that she will not be used like a toy in this dysfunctional relationship; however, she uses the metaphor of comparing the relationship to a guy playing Donkey Kong and a multitude of other arcade classics. The irony of the album is this juxtaposition of such childish comedic presence against adult themes. At one point, a Speak ‘n Spell erroneously spells out the band’s name as “F-R-E-E-Z-E-P-O-O-P”… now that’s highbrow humor. Another clever bit of disposable satire is “Chess King.” While naming a song after this cheesy-beyond-all-hope fashion chain is hilarious enough on its own, the premise takes it over the top. A hopelessly desperate mallrat, played by The Other Sean T. Drinkwater, stalks the object of his desire through the mall promising that he’ll do anything she pleases so long as she acknowledges his existence. The genius of this is the parallel between the disposability of mall culture and the disturbingly throwaway nature of a high percentage of modern interpersonal relations. There are a few scattered moments when the band tries to keep it serious, but these feel forced and come off flat and ineffective; playing things straight-up is certainly not one of their strengths.

Everyone likes to see that a band has a sense of humor, but you have to be careful not to end up making a joke of yourself. I’m not certain that Freezepop were able to totally escape that fate on their second full-length. Nevertheless they do deliver a fun and funky set of fluff that will take your mind off of life’s more serious things for at least a few moments. The album should be a staple at hipster doofus parties from coast to coast… urban white yuppies, I’m talking to you.