The Frenetics were a Canadian Punk rock band formed in 1999 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

History

Prior to the Frenetics, Malcolm Bauld was the guitarist and vocalist of seminal Montreal punk band Sissy Havoc which also featured Serge Nakauchi Pelletier of later group TEKE::TEKE. Sissy Havoc had one release, the 1998 NineSevenDemos album (The Mintaka Conspiracy). Malcolm Bauld and drummer Anne Gauthier formed The Frenetics in 1999, cementing it as a three-piece ensemble whose approach closely connected to punk and power pop sounds with fast and catchy melodies. This is the musical direction captured on the band's first release, the ''Scenery EP'' released in 2000 ( Grenadine Records), which drew media attention and led to their first Canadian cross-country tour during which Bauld and Gauthier were joined by bassist Simon Nixon. The Frenetics' first full length album, ''These Mistakes Took Years of Practice'' (2001), was recorded by Greg Smith and released by the

Union Label Group Union Label Group is a record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was formed through the merger of the smaller labels Stomp Records, 2112 Records, and Tyrant Records. Mayday! Records was later created as a genre imprint. Stomp Records was ...

. Bassist Philippe Tremblay joined Bauld and Gauthier for the album production and touring support. The album was well received, described by ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' as "fast, blending together punk and mod, adding a splash of emo (not too much though) but keeping the melodic aspects of rock that are so necessary". The Frenetics toured extensively both nationally and abroad in support of the album, including as part of the 2001 Montreal edition of the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

. During this time, Gauthier occasionally played drums in Montreal all-women group the Nags, as part of Montreal's emerging

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

scene, while Bauld briefly fronted the Deadenders. In 2004, the band released its follow up album, this time with Alex Seliger of Montreal bands Line Three and the Subumlauts joining on bass. ''Grey Veins to the Parking Lot'' was recorded by

Andy Magoffin Joel Andrew Magoffin, best known as Andy Magoffin, is a Canadians, Canadian musician and record producer. He is the songwriter, vocalist and guitarist for the indie rock band Two-Minute Miracles and the touring bass guitarist for Raised by Swans. ...

at House Of Miracles in London, Ontario and at Montreal's Breakglass Studios by Marc-André Beaudet and

Jace Lasek Jace Lasek is a Canadian musician and producer living in Montreal. He and his wife Olga Goreas are the principal songwriters for the Montreal-based indie rock band The Besnard Lakes. Lasek plays guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. He is also the b ...

. The album included musical contributions by members of

The Planet Smashers The Planet Smashers are a Canadian ska punk band from Montreal. Since their formation in 1993, they have been a staple of the Montreal music scene. During the third wave of ska, they performed nationally and later internationally, with tours in t ...

, Kobayashi and Parkside Jones as well as guest vocals by

Greg MacPherson Gregory Hector Macpherson (born May 3, 1950) is a Democratic politician in the US state of Oregon. From 2003 to 2009, he served as the state representative from District 38, which includes most of Lake Oswego and portions of southwestern Port ...

. The band toured North America in support of the album which received consistent acclaims and positive reviews, as well as a Montreal International Music Initiative nomination. After disbanding the Frenetics in 2005, Malcolm Bauld remained active as a singer-songwriter and as contributor to other musical projects. In 2005 Bauld self-released two EPs of his own material, and from 2006 to 2008, joined the bands Pawa Up First and Yesterday's Ring as a multi-instrumentalist, contributing to Yesterday's Ring's album ''Diamonds In The Ditch'' (

Suburban Home Records Suburban Home Records and Distribution is a record label based in Denver, Colorado, United States. The label was founded in 1995 by Virgil Dickerson, and is known for focusing on vinyl releases and bands in the pop-punk and alt-country genres. Its ...

). In 2008, he briefly reunited with Sissy Havoc, and put out a full-length solo album ''Covered in Dust'' (Art of the Underground label), described as "relaxed and full, with an emphasis on gorgeous folk ballads".. Gauthier went on to play in groups such as Hot Springs, Kickers and

TR/ST TR/ST (previously known as Trust) is a Canadian electronic music project of Robert Alfons. It was formed as a band in 2010 when Alfons met Maya Postepski of Austra. The project has spawned four albums so far: '' TRST'' (2012), '' Joyland'' (2014 ...

and is currently the head engineer at La La Land Studios in Kentucky.

Discography

Full-length albums

* 2001: ''These Mistakes Took Years of Practice'' (Union Label Group) * 2004: ''Grey Veins to the Parking Lot'' (Union Label Group)

EPs and singles

* 2000: ''Scenery EP'' (Grenadine Records) * 2002: ''Countdown Radio'' - Split 7 inch with Nakatomi Plaza (Fans Of Bad Productions Records)

Other contributions

* 2000: ''Sick & Twisted 2 compilation'' - Wintertime (Sick & Twisted Records) * 2002: ''Syrup & Gasoline vol 2'' - Wishful Thinking (Grenadine Records) * 2004: ''48ieme parallele'' - Running Up (New Romance for Kids Records) * 2004: ''Montreal Spirit - A Dare To Care Records Family Compilation'' - As far as I Know (Dare to Care Records)

References

{{authority control Canadian alternative rock groups Canadian punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2005 1996 establishments in Quebec 2005 disestablishments in Quebec