Heaven Is A Place, This Is A Place EP - Frank Iero & The Future Violets: Review

Frank Iero

is the guitarist of former/current pop punk legends My Chemical Romance. After the bands initial break-up Frank transitioned into a solo career slightly changing his bands title with each release. After the switch to The Future Violets he released his 3rd solo album in 2019. Legendary hardcore producer and member of Big Black Steve Albini was brought on to handle production on the tracks. 

Review By Lav:

I loved My Chemical Romance in my youth and unlike some other bands I grew up enjoying I still enjoy most of their catalog to this day. I've been mixed on the solo material Frank has put out over the last few years. I didn't love his death spells project and I was pretty mixed on his solo debut stomachaches. His 2nd solo record Parachutes in 2016 hit me much more directly with passionate emotional highs all around and raw energetic performances that turned back the clock to his aggressive early MCR albums. That momentum didn't quite carry into his 3rd record and first as The Future Violets, despite having some of my favorite tracks I've ever heard from him it was incredibly inconsistent. Unfortunately the highlights on this short EP aren't quite as high and the project is just as inconsistent. 

The best tracks are the opener and closer. Violence comes first and I thought the song was kind of goofy at first but is grew on me a lot the more I heard it. I warmed up to the animated theatrics on the vocal side as he puts on a horror show performance channeling some serious melodrama. The song isn't perfect but I think its solid after a few listens. The closing track Record Ender is the EP's nearly 7 minute closing track that feels 2000's emo inspired in its slow developing and lustful composition. The explosion of sounds that work as the tracks climaxes are surprisingly effective each time and I love the backing vocals. The second half isn't quite as engaging but I enjoyed the song a lot more than I didn't. 

Sewerwolf doesn't have nearly as instantaneous songwriting and it leaves Frank's performance sounding very out of place. Most notably on the hook where the mix of instrumentation is kind of a messy blur in the background of his screaming. The songs priorities don't really add up to a track I enjoy. The next song on the EP is an honest to god cover of R.E.M's Losing My Religion. It isn't like a hardcore rendition either it sounds a lot like the original and is by far the quietest track on the EP. Obviously the song itself is great but the performance doesn't really blow me away and given how little has been changed I think I would rather just listen to the original. 

Heaven Is A Place has its moments but overall I think its just as inconsistent as the previous Future VIolets album. While i'm obviously still looking forward to whatever Frank does next I don't think this moment is going to stand out much in his career or in 2021. 5/10

Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:

As a lover of film photography I like this cover. I think it's simple and doesn't catch my attention right away giving is a disadvantage when lined up with other covers. The image itself is nice with an off balance composition that gives it a candid feel and it has a nice sense of nostalgia. I would have changed the way it was displayed, mayve photographing the image taped to the board instead of digitally imposing the tape and text. 6/10

For more Frank Iero read my review of Barriers here