Frat Mouse – pretend (2020)
Similar to many other big-name bands out there, Frat Mouse began as two people coming together and making music “as a laugh”. Next thing they know, they are receiving international coverage in various publications and playing headline spots at festivals. Frat Mouse is no different – although the headline spots at festivals aren’t on the biography just yet.
Hailing from Los Angeles, Frat Mouse is a trio of young lads playing some music and gaining a loyal following. In late-2019, founders Truman Sinclair (guitar and vocals) and Griffin Meehan (bass and vocals) met through a mutual friend and landed up writing, recording and releasing songs as Frat Mouse. The third piece to the puzzle arrived in the form of drummer Ben Lopez in mid-2020. The latest track to their repertoire is ‘pretend’.
Reminiscent of Citizen Cope with a dash of Talking Heads, ‘pretend’ is a heartfelt folk track. According to their press release, the defining element of their writing and recording process is “the flow state” where everything is recorded at once to maintain constant creativity – clearly seen in ‘pretend’.
Exploring issues of frustration, isolation and despair, ‘pretend’ is a poignant track written by a young adult seeing his friends leave for college while he remains behind. The acoustic guitar combined with raw vocals enhances the concept and makes you feel overwhelming hopelessness and dejection. The vocals are gloomy, but the organic nature of ‘pretend’ demonstrates makes it a heartened melancholia. The sophistication in lyrics and instrumentation makes it difficult to believe that the lads of Frat Mouse are only 18!
For more from Frat Mouse check out their Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.
