Video: Frankie and the Witch Fingers, ‘Empire’

Kevin Bronson on August 17th, 2023

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Frankie and the Witch Fingers (Photo by Lance Bangs)

There are singles, and then there are singularities. “Empire,” the latest release from psych-punk warriors Frankie and the Witch Fingers, seems to be the latter, bursting through a crack in the matrix for 7 minutes 29 seconds.

At turns doomy and majestic, frenetic and chaotic, it’s a helluva way to open an album. But there it is, situated as the lead track on “Data Doom,” their seventh full-length, out Sept. 1 via The Reverberation Appreciation Society/Greenway Records.

It’s a rhythmically complex, mind-bendingly intense collection that finds FATWF co-founders Dylan Sizemore (vocals, guitar) and Josh Menashe (lead guitar, synth) joined by bassist Nikki “Pickle” Smith (ex-Death Valley Girls) and drummer Nick Aguilar (Mike Watt). The band introduced the album back in June with the single “Mild Davis,” a palate-cleansing meditation on the encroachment of technology in 7/4 time. We’d hardly caught our breath when they followed with the similarly dystopian “Futurephobic.”

On “Data Doom,” Frankie and the Witch Fingers pack as much bite into their social commentary as they do in their fusillade of guitars, agitated vocals, wonky synths and furious drumming. It’s anyone’s guess which side of your brain will trip out first.

The video for “Empire” is the work of director Kevin Fermini. John Mark Lapham’s collage work is on display in the “Mild Davis” video.

||| Watch: The video for “Empire”