Freak*on*ica
Studio album by
Girls Against Boys
ReleasedMay 19, 1998
RecordedOctober 1997
Genre
LabelDGC
ProducerNick Launay
Girls Against Boys chronology
House of GVSB
(1996)		 Freak*on*ica
(1998)		 You Can't Fight What You Can't See
(2002)

Freak*on*ica is the fifth studio album by American rock band Girls Against Boys, released on May 19, 1998, through DGC Records. Their first and only album for a major label,[1] it was first released on vinyl, followed by a released on CD and cassette formats on June 2, 1998.[3][4] It was produced by Nick Launay.

The album received moderate success in the US, though its stylistic shift garnered a mixed reception from critics and fans.[1] Lead singer and guitarist Scott McCloud has described that period as having “an atmosphere of stress. But I remember it coming from me...There were no Geffen people in the studio. All the mistakes that were made were made by us.”[5]

Production

Girls Against Boys' previous album, House of GVSB (1996), exemplified the group's famous post-punk sound but also featured some songs that reflected their emergent interests in trip hop, hip hop and dance music, including "Vera Cruz", "Life in Pink" and "Zodiac Love Team", foreshadowing their primary direction on Freak*on*ica. The group's frontman and guitarist, Scott McCloud, commented on Freak*on*ica: "Our music always had a groove. We decided we wanted to make an electronic-based rock record. In the mid-'90s, that music was exciting. Lots of bands were dabbling in it. We decided to see how we could implement some of those sounds into our next record. We thought, 'We have always loved bands like Depeche Mode, so let's experiment."[1] As McCloud explained, the group felt the freedom to experiment as the record was their first in their three-album deal with DGC, who left the group alone to make the recording they wanted, although it would ultimately be their only record for the label.[1]

Critic Ned Raggett compared its crisp and clean "techno-metal" sound to Garbage and noted the use of "weird" blasts of guitar and looped samples of noise.[6] Matt Diehl noted the "post-punk guitars and industrial-strength electronica rhythms" and called it "sci-fi deca-dance"[7] John Mulvey noted that the group's formula still prioritised guitar riffs over songs, dual bass guitars and "muffled samples", but noted the addition of "a pricey industrial-style production in what one suspects is a vain attempt to draw in the Marilyn Manson massive."[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The A.V. Clubunfavorable[2]
Robert Christgau(neither)[9]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[7]
The Independent[10]
NME6/10[8]
Pitchfork7.7/10[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Spin7/10[13]
Wall of Sound71/100[14]

Freak*on*ica was released to very mixed reviews from music critics.[1] Matt Diehl of Entertainment Weekly called it "GVSB's most mesmerizing collection yet", drawing attention to the funky, dystopian sound and Scott McCloud's "evocatively dissolute lyrics".[7] In The Independent, Angela Lewis welcomed the band's return and noted the addition of "Millennium paranoia" to their lyrical themes. She added: "Every song is a bleak cocktail of bad blues, but with an idiosyncrasy that's made them much missed."[10] Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork commented that while the group's decision to eschew their former hardcore label Touch and Go for the major label DGC could invoke accusations of selling out from "indie-rock pundits", their new sound "seems more like a natural progression than a clever ploy to sell more records", and believes their appeal remains in "their ability to write awesome, swinging rock burners that rely more on the band's ace rhythm section than on guitar skills."[11]

NME critic John Mulvey noted several "terrific moments", but suspected that the group had become "bored with what they do" and had nearly exhausted their formula.[8] Bob Gulla of Wall of Sound wrote that the "highly anticipated" album would, according to some, "help to redefine heavy, guitar-based rock for the millennium." However, he disagreed; writing that while the record is worth hearing, much of it explores the "same dark, blank spaces" with few hooks or melodies, contending: "Impressively postindustrial, Freak*on*ica winds up being more admirable than exhilarating, more sudden than enduring."[14]

The A.V. Club called it Girls Against Boys' worst album, dismissing the band for "[trading] in its skewed take on dance music for the real thing, and to poor effect." They further panned McCloud's "overproduced" vocals and the replacement of the band's "weird grooves" with "alternative/industrial guitar hooks straight out of a club scene from a Miller Genuine Draft commercial." They said: "To its credit, Freak*on*ica is perhaps the best Filter record ever, a fact that should score the band some much-needed airplay on alternative radio. But those looking for a return to past glories should forget it."[2] In his retrospective review, Ned Raggett of AllMusic wrote that Freak*on*ica was "practically a joke, sounding more like a commercial band attempting to cover Girls Against Boys than the group itself"; he criticized Launay's production for smoothing out the band's sound.[6] Kevin Adickes Pitchfork described the album as a "calamity" and a "discotheque disaster" in 2002.[15]

Legacy

The album received moderate success in the US. By 2002, Freak*On*Ica had sold 44,000 copies in the United States.[16] Writing in 2023, PopMatters critic Bob Stout believes that the album now "sounds like a preview of 21st-century mainstream music, a decadent mix of electronic and guitars with lyrics that read as a tongue-in-cheek critique of the high life. Girls Against Boys sought to make a dance record with guitars, and it delivers on that fully." He commented that the group broke ground in 1998 by "playing riffs that sound like samples and leaning further into synthesizers and the groove-heavy drumming", and that this prefigured how it is now commonplace for pop music to "lean heavily into club music". He concluded: "Given the blending of rock and electronic music that has dominated the pop charts for some time, it becomes clear that Freak*on*Ica was ahead of its time. ... Girls Against Boys weren’t the only band blending electronic and rock music at the time. They were just one of the few doing it seamlessly, whether longtime fans chose to see it or not. Twenty-five years later, it’s likely that Freak*on*Ica would be embraced for the elements that made it so maligned in 1998."[1]

Track listing

  1. "Park Avenue" – 3:50
  2. "Pleasurized" – 3:39
  3. "Psycho-Future" – 3:32
  4. "Black Hole" – 4:16
  5. "Roxy" - 4:19
  6. "One Firecracker" – 3:47
  7. "Speedway" – 3:43
  8. "Exorcisto" – 3:56
  9. "Vogue Thing" – 3:53
  10. "Push the Fader" – 4:01
  11. "Exile" – 4:20
  12. "Cowboy's Orbit" – 4:04

Charts

Album
Chart (1998) Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[17] 11
Singles
Year Song Chart Position
1998 "Park Avenue" US Mainstream Rock Tracks[18] 28

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Stout, Brian (September 13, 2023). "Girls Against Boys' on Their Criticized '90s Album, Freak*on*ica". PopMatters. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Freak*on*ica · Music Review Girls Against Boys: Freak*on*ica · Music Review · The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. March 29, 2002. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  3. ↑ MTV News Staff (April 20, 1998). "Girls Against Boys Take On Vinyl". MTV News. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  4. ↑ MTV News Staff (March 27, 1998). "Girls Against Boys Ready To Unleash "Freak*on*ica"". MTV News. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  5. ↑ Jenkins, Mark. "Girls Against Boys reunites, will perform at Black Cat anniversary show". No. September 12, 2013. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Raggett, Ned. "Freak*On*Ica – Girls Against Boys | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 Diehl, Matt (June 1998). ""Freak Out" Nothing Less Than an Aural Assault from Girls Against Boys". Entertainment Weekly. p. 84. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Mulvey, John (May 16, 1998). "NME.COM - GIRLS AGAINST BOYS - Freak*On*Ica". NME. Archived from the original on 2000-10-02. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  9. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Artist 521". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Lewis, Angela (May 15, 1998). "Pop & Jazz: Album Reviews". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  11. 1 2 DiCrescenzo, Brett. "Girls Against Boys: Freak*On*Ica: Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 29, 2001. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  12. ↑ Brackett, Nathan, ed. (November 2004). "Girls Against Boys". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 332. ISBN 9780743201698.
  13. ↑ "[Freak*On*Ica review]". Spin: 134–135. June 1998.
  14. 1 2 Gulla, Bob. "Wall of Sound Review: Freak*on*ica". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 2001-04-15. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  15. ↑ Adickes, Kevin. "Girls Against Boys You Can't Fight What You Can't See". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  16. ↑ Billboard Staff (2002-01-16). "Girls Against Boys Signs With Jade Tree". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  17. ↑ "Billboard's Heatseekers Album Chart". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 25. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 20, 1998. p. 19.
  18. ↑ "Girls Against Boys - Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
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