Album Review - The SOPA Opera

He's back, guys. Frankmusik is officially back. Well, he is sort of back. He started a side project called "Vincent Did It" , which is basically the same thing as Frankmusik. Yeah. I don't get it either, but he released a new EP entitled "The SOPA Opera". I haven't been so happy to see an artist back since the Aqua reunion.

Before you ask, yes, that is the real cover art for the release. It is odd, but it makes the release stand out a bit from the crowd

The opening track, "Dynamo" is a fast paced introduction to the new feel. Filled with a lot of electronic stutters, crazy synth noises, and plenty of falsetto vocals, it makes it clear that he is still the good old Frankmusik we have come to love. This track is much more of a homage to his roots as a budding artist than his mainstream release with "Do It In The A.M." The song is not heavily focused on lyrics, as most of the time he ends up repeating "I'll be your Dynamo" over and over. What the song is really about is high energy and dance beats. It does it's job and does it well.

"Somebody" is the next track in line, and the first to feature another artist. Falling in line with the current theme in pop music, the "feel good about yourself" track, this one is a bit of dejavu because of it's content. Thankfully, he has some clever rhymes and epic backing tracks to make his song stand out beyond the rest. Jay White's rap bit underwhelming and short, but I would definitely have to hear more from him. This song leaves you with a simple message. "Don't let the Bastards bring you down cause you're -- somebody!" This amuses me.

The slower song on the album is "So You're Alive" and it has the best vibe out of the entire EP. I just can't get over how amazing of a vocalist Frankmusik is, and this song is a testament to that. As this is another song that is focused more on the music than the lyrics, it is clear that he was going for people to be able to connect with his music rather than connecting with his words. The song's weird funky future vibe really gets me going every time.

My favorite track is bringing up the rear. Featuring the very interesting Quigley (Why interesting? Check out this video and see), "Notice Me" is a plea for attention from that one special person, and has some of the best vocals and tracking on the entire album. It's beat drives you and it's lyrics guide you. This song is pretty much guaranteed to burrow into your head, take up residence, and make you subconsciously sing it all the time. Quigley is a very talented artist, and I look forward to seeing more from her.

Added to the end of the EP are three remixes that give you some very different feels for the previously mentioned songs. Digiraatii remixed "Dynamo" while Herve and Leisure Council did their own separate remixes for "So You're Alive". These three remixes do a good job of giving the less lyric heavy songs completely different feels, and showing how easily a song can change vibes just by having a new beat.

The best part of "The Sopa Opera" EP is that it is completely free. Frankmusik has vowed to never make free music for everyone to enjoy. Everyone loves free music, right? I say even if you haven't given him a chance in the past or have disliked his music before you still give it a download. It's free, and can't hurt a thing. Get the EP on his spankin' new official site here.