Martin Frawley Of Twerps Announces Solo Album
Whether one seeks it out or it simply presents itself, change is an inevitability. Should one embrace it? Grapple with it? Fight it? These are the questions Martin Frawley unpacks as he steps into the spotlight for Undone at 31, his first album as a solo artist and the start of a new chapter for the Melbourne songwriter.
Listen to the album’s End of the Bar now, an early standout about mistakes and missteps in Frawley’s Australian pubs that’s equal parts Velvet Underground cool and outlaw country, and read a new interview with exclusive photos on Australia’s LNWY. Out February 22, Undone at 31 is available now for pre-order on CD, LP, and blue-white marble Peak Vinyl in the Merge store and wherever you buy music.
Named for the year in his life when the bottom fell out following a long-term romantic partnership, Frawley sequenced Undone at 31 chronologically to emphasise his journey. End of the Bar directly follows the record’s opener You Want Me? which was originally released as a single last month to accompany Frawley’s signing announcement to Merge and serve as a scene-setting prologue that Paste described as “both an annulment and memorial of that partnership.”
Those familiar with Frawley’s time as co-leader of Twerps will take comfort in hearing his deceptively simple songwriting is still intact, but the big reveal here is how new instrumentation and influences seamlessly expand Frawley’s playground. It might take several listens for one to realise Frawley is singing “Something About Me” over just violin, Moog, and a Graceland-esque bassline, or to appreciate the PB+J pairing of Fender Rhodes and lap steel on Where the Heart Is, which serves as Undone at 31’s twist ending. Frawley’s album does not shy away from morbid musings and raw emotions that come with a breakup, and like Shoot Out the Lights or Sea Change, Undone at 31’s tunefulness and exploration combined are what elevate the music above the melancholy subject matter.
Martin Frawley will be touring worldwide in 2019. Stay tuned by following Marty on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and pre-order Undone at 31 today!
