Freddy & Francine – Indie Voice Blog

Day two of our eight day album review challenge brings us three more reviews. We are amazed at the quality and quantity of amazing music within the indie music community. Sit back and enjoy these reviews as we help you determine who you should check out and who is worthy of your hard-earned entertainment dollars.

Artist Name: Freddy & Francine

Album Name: Gung Ho

Label: F&F Records

Genre: Country Folk Americana

Track Listing: 1. If you Want Me; 2. I get the Feeling; 3. Something’s Gotta Give; 4. Tryin’ Hard to Love You; 5. Duet; 6. Father’s Daughter; 7. Ray’s Song; 8. The Moment; 9. Sideman; 10. You go to my Head; 11. South of my Love; 12. The World to Me

Publicist: The Press House

Review: Freddy & Francine have slowly built up a rabid fan base in their native Los Angeles, and packed the venue for their CD release show at the Hotel Café back in June. Composed of Lee Ferris and Bianca Caruso, the group has already won the LA Music Critic Award for best pop band for the first half of 2016. Just a casual listen to their latest CD gives the listener an understanding as to why this duo has become so popular. Their sound can be considered Americana, folk, pop or country, but regardless of the genre you place it in, the result is some of the finest music coming out of Los Angeles today. From the first track “If You Want Me” all the way through the final track “The World to Me,” Freddy & Francine demonstrate that they have what it takes to burst forth from their indie beginnings and make it in this tough music business. Best tracks include “If you Want Me,” “I get the Feeling,” “Ray’s Song,” “The Moment,” and “South of my Love.”

Recommendation: Freddy & Francine definitely have what it takes to be making music for a long time to come. This album is further proof that you can expect great things from this band, and is definitely worthy of a Get It rating.

Artist Name: Chi McClean

Album Name: Let me In

Label: None

Genre: Singer-Songwriter Acoustic Country Rock

Track Listing: 1. I Save You; 2. Build me Up; 3. Life got in the Way; 4. Let me In; 5. It Don’t Matter; 6. It’s Alright; 7. Thought I’d Never; 8. A Thing or Three

Publicist: None

Review: Chi McClean has quietly become one of the best indie musicians you have probably never heard of. We have known McClean for quite a few years, and his latest CD is his best yet, although we feel that it only begins to touch the musical genius that he possesses. His songs could easily make the transition to college radio and even mainstream country radio. The first track, “I Save You,” belongs on the same playlist with Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, Josh Kelley and Maroon 5. There isn’t a weak song on this CD. McClean’s brilliant writing shines forth on each track, but is especially highlighted on “I Save You,” “Life Got in the Way,” “It’s Alright,” and “Thought I’d Never.”

Recommendation: You can mark it on your calendar that Indie Voice Blog predicts that Chi McClean will soon become a household name. Of all the albums we have reviewed this year, this one is definitely in the top 3 and receives not only a Get It rating, but a “You must be crazy if you don’t have this CD in your library” rating.

Artist Name: Shannon Hurley

Album Name: Switch it On

Label: Lenore Records

Genre: Singer Songwriter Pop

Track Listing: 1. Switch it On; 2. Heartbeat on the Radio; 3. What Will it Take; 4. Fall From Grace; 5. Behind the Clouds; 6. Nightingale; 7. I’ll Turn it On; 8. Sweet Lovin’ Ways; 9. Back to my Heart; 10. Only Love

Publicist: None

Review: Whether playing solo or with her husband in the dynamic duo Lovers & Poets, Shannon Hurley is a force of nature. Her dynamic vocals coupled with her incredible keys and electronica create a unique sound in the world of indie music. Her creative genius is easily seen in this amazing collection of songs, as well as in the innovative music videos that she creates. Check out the video for track two, “Heartbeat on the Radio,” if you need further proof.

Best tracks include “Heartbeat on the Radio,” “What Will it Take,” “Behind the Clouds,” and “Back to my Heart.”

Recommendation: Hurley’s potential as an artist seems to be unlimited. She gets better with each project, and this CD is one of her best yet. We are pleased to give Switch it On an unmitigated Get It rating.

We hope you have been enjoying these articles on the winners of the LA Music Critic Awards for the first half of 2016. Our next feature is on the winner of the Best Pop/Rock Artist award, the dynamic duo known as Freddy & Francine.

Freddy & Francine is an LA-based pop act composed of Lee Ferris and Bianca Caruso. Freddy & Francine released their second CD, Gung Ho on June 10, 2016. Caruso was unable to be interviewed as she was working on a deadline for the networks, so all the answers came from Ferris on her behalf. Nevertheless, please sit back, relax and learn things about this amazing group.

IVB: How long have you been performing?

LF: We started the band in 2008 after originally joining up to write together. I started performing for family when I was five years old, and sang in choirs and high school musicals before heading off to college to continue my musical career. I first attended school for opera before going to Berklee School of Music to learn jazz guitar. I have performed all over Los Angeles in various bands before becoming half of Freddy & Francine. Caruso had a choral background in high school before studying classical music independently. She moved to LA from Austin and has also studied voice and piano. She sang back up for various bands and artists in Los Angeles, including Broadway star Idina Menzell. We first met in 2007 when we were performing in the 40th anniversary production of the musical “Hair.”

IVB: Who are your influences?

LC: Definitely Bob Dylan (thanks to my father), as well as classic rock like the Rolling Stones, ELO, the Beatles, Van Morrison, and other 70’s artists including The Band. I love traditional 60’s and 70’s rock. I also love big band and be-bop, world music (especially African), Motown and Stax.LC. Motown & Stax. Caruso is more influenced by 80’s and 90’s soul/R&B acts like En Vogue, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston. She likes more pop R&B than classic Motown R&B.

IVB: What made you decide to DIY?

LF: Well, no one was knocking on our door or offering us a lot of cash. This was something we wanted to do no matter what so it was pointless to just wait around for someone to “discover” us. DIY gives us the independence to make our own decisions, and to learn the music business on our own terms. We get to do it all by ourselves. We would love to have more people on board to help us but in the meantime we’ll keep doing it ourselves. We especially like that we get to keep our own publishing rights.

IVB: Are you seeking to be a mainstream artist?

LF: The term “mainstream” is a little general. There are niches within the genres. For example, Americana covers so much stylized content. We can go as far as we want right now. We’re not interested in being “Top 40.” We do want the respect of our peers but not necessarily the general public.

IVB: What are your future plans?

LF: We plan to keep touring in support of our new album and continue to build relationships across the country so we can play at Festivals like the one we just did in Colorado. We want to make a new record every one to two years, publicize our record and market it well. We’re working on getting radio airplay. We are primarily learning everything we can so that when the labels do come knocking, we won’t be taken advantage of.

IVB: Any good stories from touring/recording/performing?

LF: Well, most recently we played the Rocky Mountain Folk Fest in Denver, with headliners like Mavis Staples, Lucinda Williams, and more. We loved getting out of LA to a place where music is truly appreciated. We recorded our new album in Eugene, Oregon with top notch musicians. We loved working with musicians that were also playing with other well known artists.

We also love setting up food competitions for free food. We’ll tell our fans to tweet “so and so” and get something in return, and we make video of our antics. It’s basic Touring 101. We both have very outgoing personalities. Our motto is “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.” We plan to just keeping trying new things.

IVB: What type of social media do you use?

LF: We have an updated website and Facebook page, as well as Twitter, Instagram and a YouTube channel.

Share this:

Share this: