Toronto four-piece FRIGS made their Arts & Crafts debut with the Slush EP in 2016, and now they're set to release their first full-length album. Titled Basic Behaviour, it's due out on February 23 via Arts & Crafts.
The LP was recorded between the band's home studio and Union Sound Company in Toronto's east end with engineer Ian Gomes — the former allowing the group to explore and rework sounds at their leisure, and the latter adding in a sense of urgency to finish the process.
The final product serves both as a lyrical reflection on the personal experiences of frontwoman Bria Salmena and a testament to the group's growth as a cohesive musical unit. A press release describes Basic Behaviour's resulting sound as "stark, chaotic, reflective and manic."
See the full tracklisting for Basic Behaviour and the band's upcoming live shows below, then hit play to listen to album cut "Talking Pictures."
In a statement, Salmena had this to say about the new song:
"Talking Pictures" was a turning point in the development of Basic Behaviour. There was a starkness to it that really resonated with us at the time, becoming a catalyst for a new style of songwriting that would eventually finish the record. Lyrically, it is about the need to be stimulated. It was written during a period where I felt a lack of both external and internal encouragement, preventing me from thinking freely or creatively. Falling into a void of routine, I was distracting myself from real life experiences, and those experiences, once examined, seemed only filtered through interactions with technology and social media. In writing this song, I attempted to explore this void and my distracted state in hopes of losing any numbness I felt in my day-to-day life.
Basic Behaviour:
1. Doghead
2. Talking Pictures
3. Waste
4. Solid State
5. Gemini
6. I
7. II
8. Heavyweights
9. Chest
10. Trashyard
Tour dates:
03/01 Montreal, QC - Bar le Ritz
03/02 Boston, MA - O'Brien's Pub
03/03 Brooklyn, NY - Alphaville
03/04 Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie - Upstairs
03/05 Lancaster, PA - Lizard Lounge
03/06 Washington, DC - Black Cat
03/07 Durham, NC - The Pinhook
03/08 Savannah, GA - Savannah Stopover Festival
03/12 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade - Purgatory
03/13 New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa
03/15 Austin, TX - SXSW
03/16 Austin, TX - SXSW
03/17 Hot Springs, AR - Valley of the Vapors Festival
03/19 Kansas City, MO - miniBar
03/21 Denver, CO - Streets of London
03/22 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
03/23 Boise, ID - Treefort Music Fest
03/24 Portland, OR - Tonic Lounge
03/26 Seattle, WA - The Funhouse
03/27 Vancouver, BC - The Cobalt
03/29 Calgary, AB - Broken City
03/30 Edmonton, AB - Bohemia
03/31 Saskatoon, SK - Amigo's Cantina
04/01 Winnipeg, MB - The Good Will
04/04 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
04/06 London, ON - Rum Runners
04/07 Toronto, ON – The Garrison
The LP was recorded between the band's home studio and Union Sound Company in Toronto's east end with engineer Ian Gomes — the former allowing the group to explore and rework sounds at their leisure, and the latter adding in a sense of urgency to finish the process.
The final product serves both as a lyrical reflection on the personal experiences of frontwoman Bria Salmena and a testament to the group's growth as a cohesive musical unit. A press release describes Basic Behaviour's resulting sound as "stark, chaotic, reflective and manic."
See the full tracklisting for Basic Behaviour and the band's upcoming live shows below, then hit play to listen to album cut "Talking Pictures."
In a statement, Salmena had this to say about the new song:
"Talking Pictures" was a turning point in the development of Basic Behaviour. There was a starkness to it that really resonated with us at the time, becoming a catalyst for a new style of songwriting that would eventually finish the record. Lyrically, it is about the need to be stimulated. It was written during a period where I felt a lack of both external and internal encouragement, preventing me from thinking freely or creatively. Falling into a void of routine, I was distracting myself from real life experiences, and those experiences, once examined, seemed only filtered through interactions with technology and social media. In writing this song, I attempted to explore this void and my distracted state in hopes of losing any numbness I felt in my day-to-day life.
Basic Behaviour:
1. Doghead
2. Talking Pictures
3. Waste
4. Solid State
5. Gemini
6. I
7. II
8. Heavyweights
9. Chest
10. Trashyard
Tour dates:
03/01 Montreal, QC - Bar le Ritz
03/02 Boston, MA - O'Brien's Pub
03/03 Brooklyn, NY - Alphaville
03/04 Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie - Upstairs
03/05 Lancaster, PA - Lizard Lounge
03/06 Washington, DC - Black Cat
03/07 Durham, NC - The Pinhook
03/08 Savannah, GA - Savannah Stopover Festival
03/12 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade - Purgatory
03/13 New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa
03/15 Austin, TX - SXSW
03/16 Austin, TX - SXSW
03/17 Hot Springs, AR - Valley of the Vapors Festival
03/19 Kansas City, MO - miniBar
03/21 Denver, CO - Streets of London
03/22 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
03/23 Boise, ID - Treefort Music Fest
03/24 Portland, OR - Tonic Lounge
03/26 Seattle, WA - The Funhouse
03/27 Vancouver, BC - The Cobalt
03/29 Calgary, AB - Broken City
03/30 Edmonton, AB - Bohemia
03/31 Saskatoon, SK - Amigo's Cantina
04/01 Winnipeg, MB - The Good Will
04/04 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
04/06 London, ON - Rum Runners
04/07 Toronto, ON – The Garrison