by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
For the past five years Fred Cracklin have been working hard to put the “freak” back into the Western Mass “freakscene,” injected their signature brand of jazz noise carnage into the world. The ever capable duo of Max Goldstein (drums, keys) and Adam Bosse (guitar) chase musical ideas like skittering threads, torn apart and hastily glued back together, creating a maelstrom of sputtering experimentation at times full of atmosphere and often runneth over with free-range chaos. With three full length albums and a recent split EP, the band’s catalog is rich with thought provoking weirdness (in the best of ways) and music that feels limitless, played without boundaries. The force of it all feels rooted in destruction, but Fred Cracklin’s caterwauling outpouring has known to ebb and flow.
While the band’s recordings have been entirely instrumental thus far, it would seem the duo has been adding vocals into their live performances, as Bosse attempts the nearly impossible… putting vocal melodies to songs that absolutely don’t leave room for vocal melodies. It’s a feet, but anything is possible in the world of Fred Cracklin. While we await to hear how the vocals fit in the studio, the band recently captured a live session at the now-defunct Sound Museum rehearsal building together with visuals from artist extraordinaire (and RONG drummer) Adric Giles. “The Rip Fence” does indeed feature Bosse’s vocals and it is indeed pretty exceptional. The band continue to astound with their musicianship, blasting and converging between mountainous feedback, colossal polyrhythms, and a freaky sense of doom. It sounds like Hella meets Discipline era King Crimson… and if that doesn’t get you intrigued, all hope is lost.