''Junkfuel'' is the debut album by the English band

Fretblanket Fretblanket are an English power pop band from Stourbridge, England. Fretblanket have had more success in the United States than in their native Britain, which the band put down to the attitude of the British music press. The band has been desc ...

, released in 1994. The band supported the album by opening for

Oingo Boingo Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and written material for in the ye ...

on a North American tour. ''Junkfuels first single was "Twisted".

Production

The band members were still in their teens when they made ''Junkfuel''. The album was produced by

Tim Palmer Timothy J. Palmer (born 4 October 1962, in North Shields) is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter of rock music, rock and alternative rock, alternative music. He Audio mixing (recorded music), mixed Pearl Jam's d ...

; some percussion was recorded at

Smart Studios Smart Studios was a recording studio located in Madison, Wisconsin. It was set up in 1983 by Butch Vig and Steve Marker to produce local bands. The studio produced bands such as Killdozer, The Smashing Pumpkins, L7, Tad, and Nirvana. After in ...

, in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. Many of the songs are character studies that empathize with their subjects.

Critical reception

The ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

'' noted: "Sounding like the Replacements or

Soul Asylum Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit "Runaway Train (Soul Asylum song), Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The band was originally called Loud Fast Rule ...

but with guitar-techie precision, these very young men—the oldest is 20—with long shiny hair would be a publicist’s dream if their songs were at all distinctive." ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' concluded that "William Copley's angry, raw-throated vocals and Clive Powell's grunge-guitar attack mark Fretblanket as one of the first British groups to reflect the worldwide influence of Nirvana's ''Nevermind'' ... But ''Junkfuel'', with its rampaging hardcore rhythms and pop hooks, owes at least as much to Jawbreaker and the

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a s ...

, and Powell's lyrics showcase a bright new talent with ideas of his own." ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' wrote that Fretblanket "leads off its rambunctious U.S. debut with the aptly named 'Twisted', at the very least a glorious mess of inspired imagery... While less coherent elsewhere on the album, the band is full of intriguing ideas." The ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

'' thought that "the parts all seem to fit, but the sum sounds forced and clenched, as if the band hasn't figured out how to loosen up and let itself be a little less stilted." ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

'' determined that ''Junkfuel'' "is filled with high-energy wailing and plenty of thick guitar-bashing, but they are not without a decided sense of dynamics." ''

Miami New Times The ''Miami New Times'' is a newspaper published in Miami, Florida, United States, and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami area and is headquartered in Miami's Wynwood Art District. Overview It was acquired by Village Voic ...

'' opined that "Fretblanket sounds like Soul Asylum without the brains rexperience."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that, "with its bland formula of loud, intricate guitar chords mixed with simplistic, pounding drums and heavy cymbals, Fretblanket sounds an awful lot like Bush."

Track listing

References

{{authority control Fretblanket albums 1994 debut albums Atlas Records albums