- 2024-07-02
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MUSIC
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Frances Forever Releases Debut Album “Lockjaw”
Boston-based singer-songwriter Frances Forever released their debut album “Lockjaw” on June 28, 2024 via Mom+Pop Music.
The album explores topics from love to anxiety to sexuality to identity and everything in between, while simultaneously creating memorable and catchy songs that float somewhere in between genres, developing a sound that is unique and fresh.
The album comprises a 11-track, featuring guest appearances from Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Miya Folick and Texas-based singer-songwriter dacelynn.
Frances Forever recorded the album over numerous sessions around Los Angeles with multiple producers such as Suzy Shinn, David Pramik, Peter Fenn and Mike Malchicoff.
Frances Forever said of the album, “Sometimes I have trouble expressing my feelings through speaking, a concept I call 'Lockjaw.' I freeze up when I can't find the right words, and I end up talking in circles or not speaking at all. I've been writing stories all my life. When I was little I got bored of writing about my own life, so I wrote a novel in the form of a diary. Writing songs and stories is the only way I've found I can truly express what I mean, and have it leave an impact. That's what this project is. It's everything I've felt in the past 3 years, my journey with gender, sexuality, mental health, adulthood. It's the thoughts I've had alone in my room that I can't explain to anyone. It's the gnawing existential dread, the yearning for the magic of childhood, the realizations of past lives, the relationships I've lost, the friends that I've made or left behind. Writing this album was a true cathartic experience, and some of the most honest songwriting I've ever done. It's the music I wish I could play for my younger self.”- They shared on social media, “I wrote the first song (monica) in 2021, and had no idea how the project would turn out or how long good art takes. it takes...a long time. but i've never been prouder of anything in my life. Cried tears of joy last night. 'lockjaw' is everything i feel that i can't put into words to i write them into songs. songs i wrote for my younger self discovering their queerness, songs about questioning my existence in the world, songs about cutting bangs, songs about the monsters in the closet. I cant wait to play these songs over and over for you on tour <3 I love every single one and they feel like an extension of me!!”
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Frances Forever explained about some tracks for the album.
“Mr. Man” featuring Miya Folick
Frances Forever: “'Mr. Man' tells a tale that every sapphic couple has, the advances of unwanted male attention while in a queer relationship. I wanted to create a sort of diss track and capture the utterly powerful feeling of not wanting or needing male validation. Miya Folick killed it on the line 'Why can't you face it? It's just basic normal gay shit!' because that's exactly what it is! Respectfully, leave us alone to our gay shit!”
Miya Folick: “I'm obsessed with Frances's energy and honesty. This song would be a bop with or without me, but I'm so glad they asked me to be a part of it.”
“Baby Bangs” featuring dacelynn
Frances Forever: “I love pop music, and it was really fun to write a catchy hook that people can dance to. I'd been wanting to collaborate with dacelynn, who is also a queer artist, for years. This was a great opportunity for us to work together."
dacelynn: “I was beyond excited to join Frances on 'Baby Bangs'. A song that felt so familiar to my own experience with queer love. I wanted to highlight how it feels to yearn for someone so deeply that you feel fated to grow closer to them. It's always daunting to be trusted with somebody else's song, but I loved having the chance to write and sing with my undeniably talented singer-songwriter and friend, Frances Forever.”
“Troll”
“'Troll' is an anthem for the socially anxious that I initially wrote as a joke after blowing off going to a friend's party, because sometimes I want to hermit inside forever and become a little monster no one wants to talk to. It feels so good to cancel plans, to make friends with the snails and never wear pants. I created a little world I want to live in when I don't feel like a person.”
“Monica Gives Me Lockjaw”
“I wrote 'Monica Gives Me Lockjaw' about that first queer crush where you feel like you're gonna fall apart if you talk to them. It's such an intense infatuation and obsession; thinking about them all the time and building up an idea of someone instead of really learning who they are. I used to mistake this feeling for love, and wanted to capture the unhealthy attachment I tied to my crushes when I was first discovering that I liked girls. This is a throwback to that angsty baby gay version of myself, and one of my favorite songs to play live. I hope you like it <3”
Photo by Danica Robinson - source : Apple Music
