Franky Lee is the brainchild of front man/guitarist Mathias Farm (Millencolin) and Magnus Hageras (The Peepshows), and There Is No Hell Like Other People's Happiness is their second album. Franky Lee paints on a large canvas but the larger theme here is alternative hard rock. There are notable flavors from punk rock of the early Eighties, akin to The Alarm, and the more popular radio-friendly nearing Green Day. They could also fit easily into the alt rock crowd thanks to a raw stripped down sound and the nearly constant screamo vocals. Yet, there is still some melodic rock accessibility. Franky Lee tries very hard for clever hooks within their blistering rock, yet these songs aren't nearly as catchy as you might suspect. Two notable exceptions would be Genius and Imagination and the brief Stone Cold Lazy.
Clearly, Farm and Hageras know their craft as the songwriting and musicianship of There Is Not Hell ... is solid. Generally, there's little down time across the album; Franky Lee bursts from the gates at the start and keeps chugging away with their raw rock. However, you might find a lighter tone, but not by much, in three cuts Blinker Beat, Trust in Me, and I Will Soldier On. Mostly, however, there was a curious redundancy throughout, making the skip button handy to have. The two exceptions to this would be the aforementioned Blinker Beat and the more versatile Cut the Feeling, where the band seems to expand beyond their raw alt-post-punk sound.
Filled with energy and moved by massive riffage, a big rhythm section, and rousing screamo vocals, Franky Lee easily fits into the mainstream of current alternative rock. However, it's not always that memorable.
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Filled with energy and moved by massive riffage, a big rhythm section, and rousing screamo vocals, Franky Lee easily fits into the mainstream of current alternative rock. However, it's not always that memorable.
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