Frederick the Younger
Louisville, KY | Established. Jan 01, 2014
Music
Press
For a mid-sized city, Louisville, KY is bursting at the seams with music talent. The latest to catch our attention is four-piece Frederick the Younger who started as duo under the name Dr. Vitamin back in 2011 composed of Aaron Craker and Vietnamese-born Jenni Cochran, subsequently changing their name with the additions of Matt Kohorst and Kevin Ratterman.
They have been garnering heavy-praise with their passionate live shows and will be releasing their debut EP on September 24th. One of the cuts from the release is the track “You Don’t Lie”. The song feels like it could have came from another decade and not in line with current trends, but compels multiple listens nonetheless. In the visual, the song comes to life in animated form. Watch below. - My Old Kentucky Blog
Louisville, Kentucky is best known for My Morning Jacket . But there 's more to download. Last spring tipped us off to the lovely Twin Limb and here's a trio that has every chance of being big. "You Don't Lie" is an attractive duet between a female and a male voice that match each other nicely, and the song itself is first class and should be mentioned in every indie blog in the world. Extra plus for the stylish video. - Hymn
Another local act, Frederick the Younger took the stage second and it’s hard to imagine anyone unfamiliar with their vibrant indie-pop coming away disappointed. Without even an EP, singer Jenni Cochran intimated the band has but one song recorded, the quartet is confident and adept in presenting whimsical, lo-fi charms. Upbeat and infectious, one can only hope this band pursues an official release with the same tempo as their melodies. As any band sets out to harness a collective heartbeat, it is no doubt subject to it's influences and origins. So it's not uncommon to see bands more intent on cultivating some pre-packaged, marketable persona than vitality in the songs. Such an approach often leads to a meticulously painted room with it's occupants in a corner. In hearing these guys for the first time, it's evident that the songs are the foundation upon which FtY intend to build their church. This is no doubt an encouraging signal of intent when the music is this honest and fun. While Small Time Napoleon made certain all were welcomed with open arms, Frederick the Younger set out to shake hips and tail feathers alike. - Louisville.com
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
The story of Frederick The Younger begins
in the summer of 2014 when Jenni, Aaron and Matt first ventured
into LaLaLand studio in Louisville, KY to record some songs with producer
Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Twin Limb, Andrew Bird). “We went into the
studio with 14 songs and started throwing ideas around. We were just exploring.
We didn’t really have a singular direction in mind.” It was during this session
that they recorded their breakout first single “You Don’t Lie.”
Flash forward to the summer of 2015 when they
met John and fell in love with his vintage Fender Mustang guitar
sound. Later that summer they were introduced to Dave who had
returned home from playing drums with Jim James (My Morning Jacket) on his solo
tour. That’s when Frederick the Younger was born.
It didn’t take long for them to develop
a reputation for putting on explosive live shows around the region. “Playing
live suddenly became so much fun,” Aaron said, “It makes a big difference now
that we have Dave kicking ass on the drums.”
They released their EP Warm Front in
July 2016 and immediately got to work on their first full-length album Human
Child. “We love recording. We love being in the studio and finding unique
sounds, identifying the element of the song that makes it interesting and
playing off that,” Jenni said.
They emerged from the studio with a
vintage-tinged collection of pop-rock songs drenched in textures. The
percussion-heavy tracks feature guitars that twist around each other and
lush vocals that take you back to the booming female voices of
the 60s and 70s. The result is an epic sound that has as much grit as it does
heart.
“One thing we knew we wanted from the
beginning was lots of textures,” Aaron said, “that’s why we wanted to work with
Kevin. He is amazing at creating soundscapes.”
The title track, “Horoscope,” is a rock
anthem for the ages. Its catchy chorus is almost impossible not to sing along
with while the coming-of-age narrative is thematically representative of the
album as a whole. “We didn’t plan that but it makes sense. We’re very nostalgic
people,” Jenni said, “I love crying. And I mean that in the best possible
sense.”
Human Child leaves you with the warm feeling you
get when you watch someone find themselves – and with Frederick the Younger you
know they have stumbled upon something truly unique.
Frederick the Younger is Jenni Cochran, Aaron
Craker, Matt Kohorst, John Barrera, and Dave Givan. Their debut LP Human Child is out Feb. 3.
Band Members
Links
