7/10
Favorite Track: "24" Least Favorite Track: "Faceless Moon"
The story of The Frights makes no sense. The San Diego trio broke the music industry: something that few people do. After forming as a time-killer during the summer after their senior year, The Frights disbanded as soon as they began (as intended). However, when all three members returned home from college for Winter break they decided to play a one-off show. The last thing that singer and lead guitarist Mikey Carnevale expected was to be approached by an audience member and offered a record deal. Thankfully, The Frights took it, and Carnevale became the face of a prominent, emerging indie band. Three albums later and the group has undergone a complete sonic transition. Going from punk-rock to a more mellow blend of punk, surf, and pop, that the group dubs surf punk. Through all this alteration, Carnevale has remained one of the few consistent things about The Frights and now we have heard his first solo album, Everything Seems Like Yesterday, which he and the band have decided to release under The Frights name. Everything Seems Like Yesterday is an acoustic, singer-songwriter project, unlike anything The Frights have done. Carnevale takes a biographical approach to age. The whole ordeal sounds like a cheap but sweet coming of age movie with Carnevale’s soft and emotional voice, bundled with classic folk instrumentation. The mix of harmonica and acoustic offered here is nothing if not simple; in the midst of all the melancholy is a flash of endearment and charm. The album opens with “24”, where Carnevale rambles about how his age has failed to produce growth in his life. Once again, on the outro “25”, we get an elementary mix of acoustic guitar and harmonica, but this time the production is more bare. The track sounds as if it was recorded on an iPhone in one take. Mikey doesn’t say anything profound. In fact, he reinforces what he did on “24”; he is still figuring it out, age is just a number. Wisdom comes from growth, not trips around the sun. As Carnevale trickles out in a burst of self awareness, he melodramatically sings, ”I can thank you all for trusting that I had something to say, but if you’re looking for the answer I would turn the other way”.