Frente de la Marina, Melilla la Vieja.jpg

Frente! (or Frente) were an Australian folk- pop and indie pop group which originally formed in 1989. The original line-up consisted of Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar (later replaced by Bill McDonald), and Mark Picton on drums (later replaced by Alastair Barden, then by Peter Luscombe).

In August 1991, they issued their debut extended play, '' Whirled'', which included the track, "Labour of Love". In March 1992, they released a second EP, '' Clunk'', with its featured track, "Ordinary Angels", which peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was followed in October by " Kelly Street" (unintentional misprint of "Accidentally Kelly Street" was retained) which reached No. 4. Their debut album, ''Marvin the Album'', issued in November, peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart. "Labour of Love" was released as an EP outside of Australasia in 1994 as a CD single with a cover version of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" included. The Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane felt that the group's "quirky, irreverent, acoustic-based sound was at odds with the usual guitar-heavy, grunge trends of the day. The band's presentation had a tweeness about it that could have been off-putting if not for its genuine freshness and honesty".

History

Frente! were formed in Melbourne, as "Frente" in 1989 by Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar and Mark Picton on drums and recorder. The group were named after the Spanish word for 'forehead' and 'front', according to ''Inpress'' magazine " rhymes with 'heaven-sent-eh!'". The band spent two years performing in Melbourne's inner-city venues before, in August 1991, issuing their self-funded debut extended play, ''Whirled'', on the Thumb Print label. It was produced and engineered by Owen Bolwell at Whirled Records in Richmond. Hart explained that the exclamation mark was added for the CD's cover art " don't write our name like that, but we thought we would on the CD covers because it looks good". One of ''Whirled''s eight tracks, "Labour of Love", was voted by Triple J listeners to No. 69 on their Hottest 100 for 1991. "Labour of Love" was co-written by Austin and Hart.

Frente! signed with Mushroom Records's White Label which issued their second EP, '' Clunk'', in March 1992. It featured the track, "Ordinary Angels", and peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart.Australian (ARIA) chart peaks:
*Top 50 peaks:
*Top 100 peaks to December 2010:
*"Lonely" (original single release): N.B. The HP column displays the highest position reached.
*"Sit on My Hands":
*"What's Come Over Me":
*"Goodbye Goodguy": It was certified gold by ARIA for shipment of 35,000 copies. In October 1992, they released a single, " Kelly Street" (sic), which reached No. 4 and was certified platinum for shipment of 70,000 units. McFarlane described it as a "summery sugar-pop" tune with a "breezy, slightly kooky video clip". O'Connor had written the track after moving to Kenny Street but incorrectly told his friends he was going to Kelly Street; the record label misspelt the first word but the group decided to keep the error and its lower case. Initially Hart was positive about the track, " 's a really happy song for me. It's about making all the right decisions and feeling really confident about what you're doing". Hart changed her mind after it was parodied on TV's '' The Late Show'' as "Accidentally Was Released" – in 2005 she reiterated, "I still hate it".

On 24 November 1992, their debut album, ''Marvin the Album'', was released, which peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It was produced by Daniel Denholm (Club Hoy), Michael Koppelman (Prince) and the band. The album was certified platinum in Australia. On the ARIA End of Year Charts for 1992 "Ordinary Angels" was placed at No. 20 and " Kelly Street" was placed at No. 29. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993 the group won 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' for ''Marvin the Album'' and 'Breakthrough Artist – Single' for "Ordinary Angels". The album was also nominated for 'Best Cover Art' (by Hart and Louise Beach) and "Ordinary Angels" was nominated for 'Best Video' (directed by Robbie Douglas-Turner). Another single, " No Time", was released in February 1993, and peaked at No. 50 in March. In July that year, Hart appeared nude for a cover story in ''Juice'', with carefully positioned beads and her hand. By that time Alastair Barden (ex-King Idiot, Maelstrom) had replaced Picton on drums.

In 1994, Frente! toured Europe and the US to promote the international version of ''Marvin the Album'' on Mammoth Records. AllMusic's Alex Henderson felt that "after several listens, one starts to realize just how strong this abstract pop-folk-rock release is". Mammoth had also issued a seven-track extended play, ''Labour of Love''. This included their acoustic cover version of New Order's 1986 hit, "Bizarre Love Triangle", which reached No. 76 in the UK – following releases of earlier tracks: "Ordinary Angels" which did not chart, and " Kelly Street" which reached No. 80. "Bizarre Love Triangle" appeared in Australia on a re-issued version of '' Lonely'' EP in May 1994 which peaked at No. 7 on the ARIA Singles Chart – the first issue had charted at No. 88 in February. In the US, "Bizarre Love Triangle" peaked at No. 10 on ''Billboard''s Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 49 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The US re-release of "Labour of Love" managed No. 9 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. "Ordinary Angels" appeared on the 1994 soundtrack for the US TV series '' Melrose Place''. By year's end, due to constant touring, O'Connor left and was replaced on bass guitar by Bill McDonald (ex-Hot Half Hour, Deborah Conway Band, Rebecca's Empire).

In early 1995, Hart recorded vocals for an Australian single, " Tingly", by Pop! released in November, which reached No. 92. Frente! has a track on a compilation album, '' Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits'' (5 December 1995), a cover version of " Open Up Your Heart (and Let the Sunshine In)". During 1995, Frente! recorded their second album, ''Shape'', in Spain with Ted Niceley

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