The Franklys

Frankly speaking, it works.

Hailing from all corners of the globe (well, Europe and North America) London based four piece The Franklys only emerged at the beginning of this year. Yet their naughty, contagious take on garage rock has already seen the quartet sell out the 100 Club before heading back out on the road for more.

Live, the band are a blur of lipstick, rock hard riffs and attitude, with The Franklys coming across as four female Holden Caulfields in the process.

New single ‘What You Said’ is out on Monday (October 13th) and comes accompanied with a video shot – rather incongruously – in the fields of Merry Olde England. It sorta works, though – check it out below. - Clash Magazine

This four-piece were highly recommended to us through our London music network and since their debut EP arrived here in our office it has become something of a favourite. The opening track on it is called “Weasel” and this soars along with the pace. There is a skip to it and they have the necessary ingredients in the make-up of it all to satisfy any requirements asked of them. The pace picks up on in an adorable way that forcefully brings it all into the reckoning for them. The guitar resonates on it in a way that shows a creative and telling aspect that hooks you right away. “My Love” has a scuzzy sound to it that comes off the playing here. That is tailored to the song because it has a streak to it that is designed to celebrate the unglamorous. The resonance to it is a high point and the drumming is well timed on it. Keeping it all in check by binding it within this setting is a shrewd move from the band because it burns brightly for it. It also marks out the potential of the band and separates their sound into the category of bands that are good enough to make the grade.

The surging quality of their sound is again apparent on “Imaginarium” with the wounded feel to it being honed here to show something with a longing to it. This is a guitar driven number that has a kick to the pace that catches it all in a formidable way. The presence and good mind to it are a good pairing that brings out the best in it. “Roadtrip Reality” shows that they have the mettle required to mix it with anyone who asks. What is dropped on the pace is significant and very much realised. It snaps into being and runs on automatic when it slips into gear.

One of those songs to sit back and listen to because it will take you away with it whether you consent or not because of how strong it is. The final track on the EP here is given the same treatment as the others. “Some People Leave” is able to arrive and have the same positive impact off the back of how well designed it is. The plying elements of it are crisp. In particular the bridge on it shows something about them that proves none of their sound can be discarded as not being important. The band has got something that says a lot about them from the evidence displayed here from this EP and they would be a band that we would recommend highly. - U&I Music Magazine, Ireland.

TheFranklys-1
The Franklys announce new single ‘Bad News’

The Franklys have announced the release of their brand new single ‘Bad News’ due 27th April. This four piece are an all-girl rock ‘n’ roll band hailing from Sweden, UK and the US. The new track follows the unveiling of their first tune of 2015 in the form of the brilliant ‘Puppet’, ‘Bad News’ is a development of their already recognised heavy sound.

Produced by Sean Genockey and mastered by Ed Woods (Muse, Roger Daltrey), the single deals with the consequences that will come from difficult choices. The single is released in conjunction with a hectic tour season for the band including extensive UK dates as well as festival appearances at Tramlines, Tannerfest and Stortford Music supporting The Undertones.

Pre-order ‘Bad News’ here: - Gigslutz

Friday, May 15, 2015
The Franklys-Bad News
Electric Wood Records
2015

The Franklys are an all-girl garage/rock n' roll band whose members hail from Sweden, the UK and the US. A London-based quartet, The Franklys made their debut in February of 2013 with the release of a self-titled EP. Preceded by the singles "Puppet" and "What You Said", "Bad News" was released this past April and this three-track EP was produced by Sean Genockey (RedRacer) and mastered by Ed Woods (Muse, Roger Daltrey). Digitally-speaking, "Bad News" is available to purchase on Amazon and iTunes. Incidentally, iTunes is where I downloaded this particular EP even though promotional material had been sent my way courtesy of Metal Mark. Give this EP a try for yourself and you'll understand all too well why it is I'm interested in supporting this band. I've got a good feeling about The Franklys. One listen to "Bad News" was all it took to get hooked on that feeling with the title track alone simply flooring me with it's Black Sabbath meets The Runaways in a dive bar vibe! Meanwhile there's "What You Said" with it's slightly twisted take on garage rock. It has a bit of a Blondie feel to it and this number shows just how easy it is for The Franklys to adapt their personal influences into something fresh and unique. Other influences include artist such as The Hives, The Strokes, Queens Of The Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys, Led Zeppelin, Mando Diao, and The Who. That said, "Puppet" all but rocks to it's own beat and said beat is provided by American drummer Nicole Pinto. The other members of The Franklys are Jen Ahlkvist (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Fanny Broberg (lead guitar), and Zoe Biggs (bass) with "Puppet" cutting a huge hole in the atmosphere thanks to it's trailblazing rock and roll fire! If "Bad News" doesn't get The Franklys noticed then I have no idea what will! You can find this AMAZING rock n' roll band online here as well as over at their Facebook page. If you're lucky enough to live on the other side of the pound then by all means check these ladies out live! This kind of rambunctious rock and roll always sounds better live even if that idea sounds close to impossible! I mean if "Bad News" is this good on tape could you imagine it LIVE and LOUD? The band must do some deadly-serious foundation shaking when they take the stage and if I lived in London you better believe that I would be right there front and center when they did it! Don't miss out on this one friends! - Heavy Metal Time Machine

London multinationalistas The Franklys inject some fire into the start of 2013. Cliches about girls rocking out can be awfully awful when written by white men, and anyway it would never do justice to the excitement of the performances on this limited edition EP, their first release. They, in essence, give us an atmospheric indie rock bred on a diet of authentic 70s and 80s punk rock and pop.The hardcore riffs and booming drums of opener ‘Weasel’ are slap bang in Arctic Monkeys/QOTSA territory, but filtered through the pop nous of, say, The Runaways or The Ramones. The chorus is sharp and powerful, the words portraying the agonised excitement of being young and in and out of love. Straight away you’ll find the vocals of Swedish singer Jennifer Ahlkvist brings to mind Siouxsie Sioux in her no-holds-barred prime. ‘Imaginarium’ is more reminiscent of the classic 80s Anglo- American indie sound the Pixies, early New Order, and (more recently) Interpol trademarked, and they capture its anxious energy wonderfully. This worldview is extended and brought up to date on ‘Some People Leave’, its punk funk rhythms bringing The Rapture to mind. If its sounding all a bit schizophrenic do not fret, it all fits together just right and the songs effortlessly flow.
This is classic old school rock, this is riotous girl rebellion…above all, this is frankly something you should be getting yourself some of. - Shindig! Magazine, UK

The Franklys | website | facebook |

By: Tim Forster

As with most festivals I went along to this month’s Loud Women Festival in London for one band in particular but instead of my normal festival experience of a mixed bag of varying interest (to me), there was a continual stream of great bands! One of the stand out bands that day, and I hadn’t previously heard of them, were The Franklys. They came on early evening (I think, by then I was a bit time warped) and were outstanding; mesmeric, energetic, playing a kind of danceable garage rock. When I got home I checked them out online and turned out they played Download Festival earlier this year! The Franklys are comprised of Jennifer Ahlkvist, Fanny Broberg, Zoe Biggs and Lexi Clark and were described by Shindig! Magazine as…’classic old school rock…riotous girl rebellion…frankly something you should be getting yourself some of’.(1) Despite the awful pun they’re right, so I contacted the band for an interview!

(((o))): Could you give us an overview of The Franklys?

Two of us are from Sweden and two from England, and we play frenetic garage rock with heavy and psychedelic overtones á la Led Zeppelin-Blondie-Strokes-QOTSA-punk-pop-rock-madness.

We’ve toured across both the UK/Europe and America, including festival slots at Isle of Wight, Download Festival and Camden Rocks, and our debut album is out early 2017!

(((o))): What artists and other figures have influenced you as a band and individuals?

Blondie, The Strokes, Led Zeppelin, Queens of the Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys, The Runaways, Green Day to name but a few.

Bands that we are currently enjoying….Petrol Girls, The Tuts, WHITE, La Luz, Muncie Girls & Tom Jones

(((o))): Did you have a clear idea of the sound you were aiming for from the start or has it gradually taken shape? How would you describe your sound?

It’s been a natural progression I think towards the sounds we are putting out now. We never want to be put in a ‘box’ so we try to get lots of different elements or the unexpected into our songs, whilst keeping a sort of heavy garage rock backbone to it. We definitely sound different to how we did a few years ago, and that’s great because you want to keep pushing forward.

(((o))): Earlier this year Lexi Clark joined as drummer, has that reconfiguration changed the band’s sound at all? Given it a different dynamic?

It’s always going to be a different dynamic playing with someone new, who will bring new skills, and sounds to the table, and Lexi is a great drummer so it’s just been very easy for the rest of us to adapt around that. Our sound and live performance is still as energetic as ever!

(((o))): I was watching the video to ‘Comedown’ and it reminded me of the third series of ‘The Bridge’ where due to trauma and drugs the male detective sees his deceased family around the home, the visions ceasing as he recovers. Was a similar idea running through the video, of a man haunted by figures from his past, but in this case pressuring him to sort his life out? Was the song/video based on any particular incident?

Haha that’s a great interpretation and I love that you have really thought about it! That’s one of the reasons we’ll rarely tell you what actually inspired a song’s lyrics, then everyone can take away their own meaning from it, and nobody is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, it’s just a different view. Jen’s lyrics come from so many different inspirations, there’s always a new meaning to be found.

(((o))): How does the creative process work within the band-is it collaborative or one writer per song?

Usually we will just jam together and the beginning of something will start from there. Or someone will come in with a riff or a beat that we then work on and build up. Overall, as long as something sounds good and sticks in our heads then we’ll work on it.

(((o))): You play an intriguing spectrum of gigs from Isle of Wight and Download Festival to Loud Women to small town venues, is it hard to adjust to different settings? Does the immediate environment-the audience/ building-affect what you play or are you fairly self-contained?

There’s no denying there is a different feeling and vibe to those varying venues, but we never change or try and stifle our performance for anything. Even on the tiniest of stages (or floors!) we are still trying to bring as much energy to it as possible, which usually means a guitar in the face or a cymbal in the back, but it’s all part of it!

(((o))): I saw you at Loud Women where you were amazing! Do you prefer playing live or songwriting and recording-which context suits your music best or do the different situations emphasise different aspects?

Thank you, we’re glad you enjoyed it! I think it’s been hard for us so far to capture the energy of our live performance on recording, but with the new album it’s closer than it’s ever been. It’s hard to say whether there’s a preference for either; they’re two different beasts.

(((o))): When you go in the studio are your songs pretty much complete and it’s just a case of recording or are they still a work in progress?

I think it depends on the song really, mostly the songs are complete and ready to record but as we go along we will always hear new things to be added or taken away that make the song better as a whole. It’s a luxury to be able to sit and listen back to a song and hear it as a listener rather than as the musician playing it – you notice things you usually wouldn’t when you are playing it altogether as a band.

(((o))): Female musicians can experience at least casual sexism. What has your experience been like in the rock scene? Historically it’s often been very macho, do you think things are improving?

Casual sexism, overt sexism…it’s still out there and still happening, of course not only in this industry. Personally I feel like things are improving, but there is such a long way to go and we have to keep pushing for changes. Maybe it’s because of who I follow on Twitter, Instagram etc. but there seem to be a lot more visibility of musicians who are female than there ever was, and it’s getting better every day. But, then again…in the mainstream, I’m not convinced many are breaking through to the public consciousness, which means you have to really seek these out and be motivated to do so. In terms of our own experiences, well, how many male musicians do you think have had a sound engineer come up to them and try to change the settings on their guitar for them in the middle of a soundcheck? Or had the comment ‘oh you play well for a boy’? Perhaps some, but we are still scratching our heads over this A+ comment from a sound engineer the other week ‘oh where’s the drummer, probably gone off to buy some new shoes…’, hmm…

(((o))): What plans do you have for 2016/17? I think you’ve a single out later this year and an album coming out next year, will you be out on tour in support of that?

We are currently finishing up mixing and mastering our debut album, which will be released early next year. It’s been a long time coming and we can’t wait to share it with everyone. And we have just announced a few live dates, which you can check out here www.thefranklys.com/live We’ll be celebrating the launch of our new single with a gig at The Shacklewell Arms on 2nd November, hope to see you there! - Echoes and Dust

"Indie-rock four-piece The Franklys have the kind of raw, gutsy energy in their songs that I aspire to have in real life. In-your-face and awesome, their tracks are almost guaranteed to make you feel a little bit invincible. I couldn't wait to find out more about the women behind the music." - Diva Magazine

Albums, Reviews
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The Franklys – Are You Listening? (Halta Halta Records)
By H ANGELL · On June 20, 2017


Half British, half-Swedish, The Franklys rock. Are You Listening? is their debut album and, frankly, you can’t not. Garage in style, they do not do quiet.
The Franklys’ world is brash, playful and empowered. Are You Listening? is littered with their romantic escapades and lessons learned. The first single, ‘Castaway’, has them confronting a cowardly man with vocalist Jen Ahlkvist shouting him down like Medusa in a leather jacket. The album version mucks about with false finishes and generally toys with your affections.

To be honest, you wouldn’t want to be anyone that these songs are directed at. ‘You Go I Leave’ has the musical depth of The White Stripes, ‘You have to leave me alone…cos I am not what you own.’ ‘Too Tall’ is another about growth and emotional confidence, ‘I grew too tall and I stepped away from your wretched heart.’ All the songs are backed by the drum hammer of Lexi Clark and the growl of Fanny Broberg’s guitar, quite the most charismatic lead guitarist live.

Even when it seems like it could be romantic, the noise is all warning. ‘Weasel’ is the second single and the earthiest of love songs, ‘My love, he can’t drink hot drinks/He hates it when his phone rings.’ Ahlkvist is a Scandinavian Debbie Harry with a sense of humour. She performs octave-shifting vocals worthy of Ari Up and Poly Styrene.

‘Puppet’ has a brilliant repetitive hook, ‘You never wanted me’, a lyrical feature that is a real strength throughout the album. This track is definitely one to play on repeat. There are some great moments on it when all the instruments bond. They are like something unstoppable barrelling out of the dark.

Even within that distinctly Franklys sound they have variety. On ‘Keeper’ Zoe Biggs’s bassline prowls, in synch with Clark’s drumming on this sinister song of possession. Together they are sinuous as a boa constrictor in a mangrove. In contrast, ‘Imaginarium’ has a fuller, more sophisticated sound due to the addition of keys. It has an extended instrumental intro with a melody and, later, vocal that are more emotionally exposed. Vulnerability would be putting it too strongly but it is moving.

The finale is ‘Bad News’, a track they thump their way through with riffs deserving of some serious air guitar. This is full throttle music. The Franklys have this genre down to a fine art. What is so great is the way in which they are so creative within it. They are a genuine talent to watch.

The Franklys. Hear them roar. - God Is In The TV Zine