Frente Norte – Ardiendo
Self-released
I still remember receiving Frente Norte’s debut album “Luchar Y Ganar” some years ago. The sturdy box was damaged and the vinyl came out more warped than one of those Vans summertours, resulting in a record that was – and unfortunately still is – completely unplayable. A shame, because it were just 100 copies of that album pressed and now only 99 of them seem to be functional these days.
Because of this I barely got to listen to “Luchar Y Ganar” as much as I wanted or needed to in order to write a review about the album. For that reason Frente Norte never got published on this website before, until now that is! Because not so recently (May 2022) the band from Toledo, Ohio released its sophomore album “Ardiendo” and this time around it arrived safe and sound at the HQ, so time to get the word out!
Question is, is it still necessary to get the word out? The album is nearly a year old by now and online it seems to be sold out. The answer is obviously yes. Frente Norte is not a band you hear or read about it every day and this is partially due to the band’s sound, which is somewhat unique. It’s hard to describe what it exactly is that makes the band – or at least the album “Ardiendo” - sound so special, but I can say that I like it! A lot!
Despite residing in Ohio, the band’s name, the album and song-titles, the lyrics, yes pretty much everything is in Spanish. The firm, gruff vocals have that typical South American vile to them and though it fits some of the more typical Oi!-punk-kinda tracks, it sometimes seems too tough for the more accessible songs. It kind of reminds me of Kong Kong in some way. Though Frente Norte and Kong Kong don’t necessarily sound the same (if it all), it kind of feels like both bands have the same kind of vibe going on with mean, barking vocals and a sound that is deeply rooted in aggressive, mid-tempo punk that can (and does) go all over the place! Perhaps it wasn’t so hard to describe this aforementioned uniqueness after all…
Self-released on vinyl, “Ardiendo” comes on either limited white vinyl (150 copies) or extremely limited red/yellow splatter vinyl (50 copies) and is highly recommended if you like your Oi!-punk with a twist! So if you do, give Frente Norte a go, because that uncanny sound is highly addictive as well!
