Album Review

frYars – Olive Eyes

• 15th Sep 2009

One-man synth outfit frYars is an interesting listen. Marrying an unabashedly 80s-sounding beat that’s as big and daft as it is terrific fun with oddly unsettling lyricism (‘you have a womb, you shall deliver me a child’) and a distinctive vocal delivery that brings to mind a period drama villain channelling the spirit of vintage Depeche Mode; suffice to say it’s oddball enough to polarise any listeners who chance upon it. Hard to deny though, is the infectiousness of the track; for better or worse, the chorus stays with you and maybe in today’s musical climate, with more acts than ever co-opting 80s synth stylings, frYars stands to win some admirers with his quirky ways.