Unglued Reviews

While Millencolinā€™s Nikola Sarcevic has veered dramatically away from Millencolinā€™s sound into countrified ballad territory on his solo albums, bandmate Mathias Farmā€™s side-project Franky Lee finds him taking almost the opposite approach ā€“ sticking to the punk genre but dropping the poppier melodic touches that litter Millencolinā€™s output in favour of a harder rock edge in the vein of fellow Scandinavians such as the Peepshows (not altogether surprising, given that former Peepshows guitarist Magnus Hageras makes up one-third of this new outfit, alongside drummer Fredrik Granberg from Randy).

Drawing their moniker from the Bob Dylan song The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest (perhaps the only song to have had two bands lift different names from its title), Franky Leeā€™s wall of sound couldnā€™t be further from that sparse John Wesley Harding cut. Farm and Hagerasā€™ twin guitar assault (both also play bass on the record, although they have a touring bassist) gives the songs a real muscular rock sound on cuts such as pumping opener Solitary, inexorable Cold Eyes and the monumental single The World Just Stopped.

Admit Defeat is a touch more accessible, channelling the earnest yearning of Samiam, but itā€™s one of the few minor variations on an album that predominantly all sounds very similar, if high octane. While the album might be called Cutting Edge, thatā€™s not a phrase that anyoneā€™s going to use to describe it (at least not figuratively): the riffs here might be incisive, but theyā€™re not exactly innovative.

Owen Heitmann