Say Farewell to Dumbasses with Frigs' "Ringworm"

Photo by Caitlin McLafferty

Toronto's Frigs may have dropped the "Dirty" prefix from their name, but they've injected it right back into the sound of their forthcoming EP, Slush: Think sludgy, scuzzed-out post-punk awash in psychedelic feedback and the grunge-hewn emotional ferocity of singer Bri Salmena. It's visceral. It spits.

The four-piece's sound—rounded out by guitarist Duncan Hay Jennings, bassist Lucas Savatti, and drummer Edan Scime Stokell—has matured considerably over the past couple of years, but their roots with DIY artist collective Heretical Objects Cooperative are still very much there on Slush, which was written, engineered, and mixed in the self-assembled studio of the band's Toronto apartment.

Following the release of "God Hates a Coward"—how's that for a lead single title?—the band is back with "Ringworm." It's arguably the EP's most melodic tune, but melody is relative when you're dealing in dissonance.

"I wrote it at a time when I felt like I was surrounded by arrogant men who felt superior to me and everyone else around them, which in turn made them over confident in their 'courting' methods," Salmena explains. "I don't wanna sound preachy or anything, but I think a lot of women can relate to that feeling when there are men in their life, even if it is only briefly, who make them roll their eyes and feel annoyed, but at the same time feel a kind of indifferent exhaustion. So I guess the song is just a fuck you, whatever, you are a brat, goodbye, I'm going to live my life."

To wit: "No, you ain't welcome to it now / You ain't welcome to it then / Coming on too strong / Who said the brat could come in?" Salmena hisses over groaning bass and drums, her voice rising in a volatile push-and-pull with the guitar line before unfurling into Alison Mosshart-meets-Linda Blair realness.

Listen to the premiere of Frigs' "Ringworm" below:

Frigs' Slush EP is out June 10 on Arts & Crafts. Catch them on tour now:

June 02 - Toronto - Smiling Buddha *

June 03 - Hamilton - Baltimore House *

June 08 - Peterborough - The Spill *

June 19 - Sudbury - The Townhouse *

June 23 - Calgary - Sled Island - Broken City (Patio) %

June 28 - Edmonton - The Buckingham

July 1 - Vancouver - The Cobalt

July 02 - Nanaimo - Crace House

July 05 - Seattle - Blacklodge

July 06 - Portland - High Water Mark

July 07 - Oakland - Sgraffito

July 08 - Los Angeles - TBA

July 10 - Albuquerque - Gold House

July 11 - Denver - Rhinoceropolis

July 12 - Omaha - TBA

July 13 - Columbia - Cafe Berlin

July 14 - Carbondale - House Show

July 15 - Chicago - The Hideout

August 20 - Ottawa - Arboretum Festival

* w/ Blue Crime

% w/ Protomartyr, Chastity

Andrea Domanick is the West Coast Editor of Noisey. Follow her on Twitter.