The FMs – Pink + Black
Release Date: 10th May 2024
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Post-Punk, Electronic, Alt-Punk, Synthwave, Alternative.
FFO: Depeche Mode, Jesus Mary Chain, Skinny Puppy.
Review By: Andy Spoon
PINK + BLACK is a double album whose construction began in the beginning of the COVID pandemic, as do many records from the last few years. Electronic post-punk duo, The FMs, have been active since around 2017 in the New York queer-culture scene until guitarist/vocalist Fankie Rex’s tragic death in 2022 of an accidental overdose. The double album is being released despite the grief of the artist’s passing, by Matte Namer, who worked as co-producer and engineer for the band’s (purportedly) final art project. PINK + BLACK tends to tackle many of the contemporary issues in queer culture, as well as social matters that have been at the forefront of trans and LGBT culture in recent years. There’s no shortage of smooth, electronic angst on the record, especially given the factor of Rex’s passing in 2022, leaving the band’s final, semi-posthumous product as a headstone that seeks to push boundaries and make listeners take note.
I think that Frankie Rex’s voice reminds me of Chester Bennington’s, which gave me otherworldly-nostalgia for the same reason. As I hadn’t been a fan of the band before this review, I was wholly-unaware of the band, so learning about the passing of Rex wasn’t a shock. However, it was something that gave a distinct color to the listening experience, given that Rex’s effect on the music isn’t something that could have been edited-out in the wake of their departure. I think that Namer’s decision to pursue wrapping-up their involvement in the product was fitting. Having a deeper voice along with a tenor male voice gives a great duet-dynamic. I found the Billy Idol/Depeche Mode-esuqe male vocal especially apt for the tonal balance of the album, giving me more than enough material to go back and re-listen to several tracks just for vocals, not to mention the effects and rhythmic variations.
The subject-matter is haunting, especially given the departed’s position on transgender issues. The single Transformation Dreams is poignant, given that the nature of the track deals with the feeling of the body in which a mind resides – how society views the plight of people whose identities are misrepresented by the skin-deep – and the cutting refrain at the end of the chorus I am not a failure….a line that resonated with me in a daring way. Given the criticism of the Patriarchal paradigm and the trans experience, I think that there is no doubt that can be raised that The FMs are really opening up a serious bit of social dialogue with the album, something that I welcome. Any time I can get a face-full of commentary from an album, I feel like the spirit of punk music lives on a little longer.
There are two distinct “faces” of the album, a dark and edgy Depeche Mode or Skinny Puppy style electronic side, juxtaposed against a post-punk, JMC new wave-style that tends to be less-edgy and more ethereal, at least to my ears. I think that the blend of the two is interesting, as it seems like there’s a lot of the duality present in the design of the album: two singers, two types of music, and it features tracks about transgender identity, which is often portrayed as a “Jekyll and Hyde” paradigm. I think that PINK + BLACK is the perfect type of album to send that message, at least in my own opinion as an outsider. Some of the best tracks on the album(s) are The New Line, Transformation Dreams, Holy House, and The Reckoning. I think that PINK + BLACK is a genuinely-good album that people who enjoy dark post-punk music will absolutely enjoy. The nature of the dualism in the vocals, the style of music, and the subject matter make this an electronic post-punk album that will get under your skin in a good, refreshing way. The album is set to be released on May 10th.
(4 / 5)
