Frontier Brothers preview

Frontier Brothers
Ronny’s, Chicago
Wednesday, October 8, 2008

If Jim Henson’s Muppets needed a house band, Austin’s The Frontier Brothers could fill in for Dr. Teeth And The Electric Mayhem Band any day. Of course, the trio might want to keep the references to drugs and women at a minimum. God forbid the kids get exposed to that kind of subject matter.

These self-proclaimed, “born in space and raised in Texas” characters often overshadow their deceptively simple, instantly memorable garage pop tunes with hijinks and puffery. (Seriously, we could do without the spandex body suits.) But what members Marshall Galactic, Brett Moses, and Travis Newman lack in fashion sense, they make up for in song. Rarely missing the mark when it comes to the high octane fare on Space Punk Starlet, the band’s debut full-length mixes pure silliness (“How Do You Make Movies When You’re Under The Sea”, “T.E.S.S. You’re A Wonderful Robot, Stay With Me All The Time”) with drag-out, kick-down rock (“Kickstand Woman,” “Starry Globes & Stereos”).

— Janine Schaults

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly