Quirk is in the air.
“The Perfidy EP” is by frYars, a.k.a Ben Garrett, and it’s an odd little record. Garrett’s vocals aren’t to my taste; very mannered and with a bizarre accent that’s hard to place • apparently he’s from London, but I could have sworn he was Eastern European before I checked; it’s downright weird. At least you can’t accuse him of being dull, as along with the strange vocal ticks, musically the EP strays between an 80s electronica nightmare, (sounding like The Pet Shop Boys on ‘Olive Eyes’ which also has some disturbingly sinister lyrics about incest), and quiet singer songwriter quirk on ‘The Novelist’s Wife’ which is actually pretty good because of the beautiful piano and brass.
Hard to get a handle on and quirky in the extreme, this is also a rewarding experience in parts, ‘Benedict Arnold’ and its remix entitled ‘Benedict Remixed’ are indie gems and the gentle beauty of ‘The Novelists Wife’ are well worth a listen. For me, even though it's great to hear something refreshingly different, I find his voice very hard to stomach, and although it’s undoubtedly distinctive I found it a little weird for weird’s sake.