Between Grit and Vulnerability, Abbey Frances’s Music is Itching to Come Out Into the World
EVER FELT SMALL? — Believe us, Abbey Frances knows that feeling. The female-led indie-rock band’s latest single, “Ants,” explores just that. The Sydney-born, London-based three-piece act consists of Abbey on vocals and electric guitar, Tom on bass, and Matt on drums.
They began jamming last September, working on demos that lead singer Frances had written over the years. Mentioning Catherine Marks (producer of boygenius and Wolf Alice) and Phoebe Bridgers among the artists they would love to collaborate with, Frances’ tracks are at once subtle and gritty, soft and aggressive — a juxtaposition they built their whole brand on.
As they’re working on their first EP and tour around Australia, they took some time to answer a few questions for Luna.
More than a band, Abbey Frances is really a family: Frances and Tom are siblings, and Frances and Matt are partners. Prior to forming the band, all members had been in a variety of projects ranging from jazz bands to electro-punk acts, which inevitably influenced their sound as we know it today.
As a matter of fact, the tracks Frances had written that would lay down the foundation of the band’s repertoire were a lot softer and chilled out, with no drums, bass, or electric guitar — just a voice and an acoustic guitar. Then the demos had to be transformed to adapt to the band context, which made them more raw. Playing live around the UK has also played its part in defining the group’s energy and emotional atmosphere.
“It changed from us tinkering away in a studio to having a dialogue with an audience and had us thinking about how people will interact with it live,” the band wrote. “Being authentic and honest and wearing our hearts on [our] sleeve[s] allows us to make really strong shared connections with our audience.”
Abbey Frances’ music exists between two realms: the folky rock dimension of acts such as Julia Jacklin, Courtney Barnett, and Ali Barter, and the harder rock inferi of groups such as Wolf Alice and Parquet Courts, which oftentimes surprisingly overlap and synergies, according to the band.
The band started off their year with their debut single, “The Star,” all about dreaming and wanting to be somebody you’re not, followed by the more energetic “These Hearts.” Their latest single, “Ants,” is the one they’ve enjoyed the most so far.
“‘Ants’ is a song about feeling small,” the band shares. “Abbey was inspired to write it after all the stories that she was told by friends and even strangers in passing, about when they were treated wrongly by men.”
Recorded back in Australia, the track uses the metaphor of ants to convey themes of isolation and mistreatment as a woman and the universal experience of feeling belittled and less valued than others. Instrumentally, the track is a gritty indie-rock exploration with Western-inspired elements such as twangy guitars.
The band recorded their tracks at Studios 301 with Stew Geddes and mixed them at drummer Matt’s home studio. The three members are lucky enough to be working full-time on music, putting their heart and soul into it.
“[We’re] networking and collaborating with various musicians and focusing on writing, releasing and performing as much music as possible,” they explain.
As playing live has shaped their sound so much, the three artists care a lot about their performances — they are particularly looking forward to their mini UK tour in November and an Australian East Coast tour happening in December and January. Touring in Australia is particularly significant for them, as they believe the landscape and culture of the country have been crucial in defining their sound and energy.
In short, this is just the beginning for Abbey Frances.
“We have a lot of music we’re itching to get out there and share with the world,” the band concludes.
