2:59

Malcolm Bauld’s better known as the singer and guitarist for Montreal three-piece The Frenetics. The Frenetics are one of my favorite voices in the Canadian punk scene right now and present a very mature, very firmly grounded sound. They share a spirit and stylistic qualities with bands like the Constantines, The Weakerthans, FemBots and singers like Greg MacPherson. I’ve never been able to label it (”rustic, wiser-than-their-years, Replacements-indebted Can-punk” is slightly too clumsy) but in my mind it’s clearly an under-acknowledged movement in the indie scene. Bauld’s singer-songwriter material sounds as you would expect a solo acoustic project would, but it too embodies that spirit I’m talking about.

I don’t believe he has a record out other than the Frenetics material, but Bauld’s posted three songs on his website. The first, “Factory Walls,” seems to be a new original track and is my favorite of the three. “Best Bet” is a re-recording of a Frenetics track from 2001’s These Mistakes Took Years of Practice while “Mansion On The Hill” is of course a Bruce Springsteen cover.

Malcolm Bauld - Factory Walls
Malcolm Bauld - Best Bet
Malcolm Bauld - Mansion On The Hill