Upon hearing the opening Neu!-influenced notes of ‘Contact’ it is clear the direction Froth are heading in on their career-defining record. Now signed with Wichita Recordings, Outside (Briefly) is the sound of a band that has truly found its voice with ten tracks that come together to create a seamless body of dreamy neo-psych.

Formed half-heartedly for a joke in 2011, the band soon became a respectable live act within the LA scene. By 2013, they had released the debut LP Patterns, which married garage rock with delicate vocal reverb. It proved to be an underground sensation and propelled the four-piece into the indie mainstream. Two years passed before second album Bleak and its heightened musicianship took the group to a new level with luscious 60s-esque guitar and a dynamic rhythmic core.

2017 now brings us to Outside (Briefly), a far more adventurous, yet fully formed effort of driving krautrock beats and striking soundscapes. Recorded over 40 days under the watchful eye of Thomas Dolas, all ten of the new songs were written near the end of 2015 and employ a variety of behaviours not normally associated with the band, this includes drum machines and keyboards.

Gone are the days of the catchy psych-pop, to be replaced by far more experimental arrangements which bring the intricate melodies and compositions to the core. While the majority is not as easy on the ear at first listen as previous releases, when given time, the record contributes a far more immersive and fulfilling experience to the listener.

Named after a chapter of the Richard Brautigan novel ‘Revenge of the Lawn, The Abortion, So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away’, frontman and guitarist JooJoo Ashworth also called upon the writings of the US author for lyrical inspiration. This is notable in first track ‘Contact’: “Watching the winners/Is walking with Jesus”. Subtle lyricisms such as this provide a consistent and gentle backdrop to the morbid underbelly of the album.

The positioning of ‘Contact’ in the track listing as well as being the first single off the LP is a definitive statement and call to arms from the band. The vintage shoegaze and propulsive framework of the song is unlike anything the Californians have released before; it’s a statement that keeps you on edge throughout.

‘Shut the Windows’ employs a similar motorik core before the album’s finest track ‘Passing Thing’ lifts the shoegaze quality of the group to another level. Layers of feverish guitar and a splattering of whispered ramblings take hold in the first half before a Fur Immer-esque instrumental closes proceeding in a vigorous example of exactly what Froth can be capable of.

The relative calm of ‘Petals’ is the album’s most poignant moment and slowly penetrates your imagination before transporting you into an Innerspeaker-like ambient soundscape. ‘Romantic Distractions’ then calls upon the reverb heavy moments from previous albums but bring them up a level with the newly acquired production qualities the band now possess.

Bookended by two of the album’s weaker tracks in ‘Sensitive Girl’ and ‘Shatter’, the bass and drum-led pulsating structure of ‘New Machine’ will lend itself perfectly to a live environment, while ‘Show a Flower a Candle and It Will Grow’ stems from a simple two note outline and evolves into a Valensi/Hammond sun-bleached dual-guitar riff.

“Don’t say a word, but your head on my shoulder/ Don’t tell me why because I don’t want to know,” cries Ashworth, as he invites the listener into his dark melancholic world on closer ‘Briefly’. It finalises what is a potent 45 minutes of delicate shoegaze and dreamy vocals under the banner of pulsating motorik. Outside (Briefly) is the sound of a band finding its voice in what is a refined studio effort and the group’s most unified work to date.
Paul Hill

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