“Frankenstein” by AV Super Sunshine

With the advent of the internet age and the world seemingly feeling smaller, it can be easy to forget that in some way or another, we’re the outsiders. Cultural shifts from the halcyon days of the white picket fence, giving way to the 60s revolution, the 70s and onwards, every decade there’s an underlying sense of wanting to be seen, but understood as not normal.

AV Super Sunshine tap the pulse of these sentiments with their new anthem, just in time for Halloween, “Frankenstein”. Having been busy for nearly 6 years now, AV has touched many feelings of love, loss, anger and more, but despite the aggressive sounds that are on display here, there’s a large sum of intimacy and empathy for the outsider. Inspired by an affinity for the community of “Little Monsters” as formed by Lady Gaga early into her career, AV instead focuses on a wider net of Monsters, and with its primary LA setting (which is home to all kinds of oddballs), it makes us all feel seen in some form or another. It borrows a lot of sonics from grunge and even the early days of metal, it kind of even evokes the sounds of Iggy Pop, Dark Side of the Moon, even the drumming atmosphere of Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk”. Luckily the whole thing moves together in such a cohesive way, in lesser hands this would be a mess.

Lyrically, AV has always had a gift for making the straight forward seem strange and peculiar. The way it starts with the low roar of repeated usage of the title already sets the mood for something unsettling. It’s less like an announcement of the arrival of a monster, but more like a rallying chant that in some form or another, we are all Frankensteins. It’s even something generationally the song touches on with callbacks to AV’s lead singer’s youth and how his family had a distaste for the music, I want to assume he grew to emulate in tracks like this and his previous albums. The hyper focus in the lyrics mixed with the devil-may-care attitude creates something intoxicating as far as the performance goes. The mixing should also be commended for putting the proper focus on the vocals of the song and all their eccentricities, but never pushing the instrumentals so far in the back as to not notice them. This band has been at it for many years and it feels effortless the way they craft their songs and work together. AV has been doing the rounds on television appearances and their stage presence is just as strong and they’re a group I highly look forward to seeing live one day.

I think the song is also a good entry level song to the band with it’s bizarreness mostly underplayed but has more to unpack upon further re-listens. With Halloween upon us, we need to be reminded that we’re all weirdos in some way and that’s what makes us who we are. We are our creators and our monsters and AV Super Sunshine is a creature worth chasing.

Mindy McCall

The music of AV Super Sunshine has been heard all over the world in partnership with the radio plugging services offered by Musik and Film Radio Promotions Division.  Learn more https://musikandfilm.com