New Franklin EP, charmingly entitled Eczema, commences with ‘Wrong Thing’, which fuses a variety of indie-rock based sounds, resembling aspects of bands such as Arctic Monkeys and The Twilight Sad.
‘The Bells’ has a very similar sound, but comes across with a grittier and darker feel through low, repeated riffs and distorted vocals.
As the EP progresses, it is clear to hear this style continuing; ‘On The Run’ could easily be mistaken as a Foo Fighters track as everything, even down to the vocal style, resembles the band.
The track is lighter, mainly due to the toned down drumming, showing the band’s comfort experimenting with different rock styles.
Closer, ‘Cover The Silence’ is the strongest on the EP; it continues the style of all previous tracks, however it has a great deal more structure to it and is easier to follow by combining moments or soft and heavy rock alongside clearer vocals.
Eczema contains four strong tracks that are very similar in their style, highlighting the direction Franklin wish to travel in, however the tracks are guilty of being too similar and require more experimentation to set the band apart.
Words: Orla Brady
