New York four piece Franny Menace are no strangers to the rock scene. Debut single “What Do You Want From Me” is a roaring testament to the immediate urgency that emerges from frontwoman Sydni Dichter‘s confident vocal delivery as she soars atop the band’s teeth-grit instrumentation. The lead-up to their sophomore single, “Nancy,” has decidedly seen text notifications aplenty not unlike the endless barrage of politicians pooling funds from their constituents. I had the distinct pleasure of capturing the band for a photo shoot, fully clad in their best political wear at the heart of Times Square in the dead mid-September heat.
Anyone so fortunate to have experienced the quartet in a live capacity will recognize the single as the very same that sees Dichter crawling on hands and knees, whipping her hair to and fro. The track itself is every bit a reckoning with the exceptionally bleak state of affairs the average citizen must endure in our existentially maddening American landscape. Sydni’s lyricism perfectly splits the difference between sharp, scathing political observations of our collapsing democracy, and anthemic hooks that’ll have you shouting along by the time the chorus chimes in. The track opens astutely with “Every other text I get is from the DNC/Hitting me up, begging me for money.” It’s often the American people tasked with hefting the financial burden of support at the behest of our politicians. “But I’m unemployed, thanks to the economy. Where’s the American Dream they promised me?” she continues, a question that rings true to the tens of thousands of down-on-their-luck youths who have never personally seen the benefits of capitalism working in their favor. Maddy Cerrito serves up a grooving bassline in tandem with Adam Finkelstein‘s self-assured backing percussion over which such daily concerns rise to the surface.
“The numbers are down, soon we’ll go to war/Your safety net’s on the cutting room floor,” Syd belts out on the pre-chorus. “When it’s going wrong, I know I’m not alone/ Nancy Pelosi’s blowing up my phone!” rings the irresistible chorus, invoking the titular first female Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. When in doubt, rest assured Ol’ Nance will still bang your line. A fiery guitar solo from Cole Birmingham erupts shortly after, setting Sydni back up to list her grievances: “Every other job online is another phishing scheme/You work so hard for nothing/But I’m half asleep, addicted to my phone screen/Building robots to replace your dreams.” The utterly bleak state of the job market is enough to make one gouge their eyes out, truly. Add to that the daily pressure of being dopamine-addicted to handheld devices that keep you constantly plugged-in to the endless sorrows of the world and the persistent prevalence of The One-Percent pushing ineffectual AI onto us from every direction. It’s enough to drive one to channel their frustrations into exorcist-like flailing in the mosh pit, making “Nancy” the perfect dosage of catharsis for a world far-too entrenched in its own algorithmic insistence. By the two-and-a-half minute mark, a flurry of headlines (recorded largely in part by fellow indie scenesters) infodumps a barrage of recent events into the ears of the listener – an audio assault on all fronts that is only relieved by sonic breakthrough. Franny Menace proves on their second single outing that they are the furthest thing from being in a sophomore slump. Quite the contrary. I daresay this band of four are one of New York City’s fastest rising acts, and you won’t regret investing on the ground floor with a grassroots listen.
Be sure to give “Nancy” a spin down below:
