Freak Scene #90: The Frost Heaves & Hales Return With 5-Song EP
Plus, Rival Galaxies want to make you move on a pair of dance-punk songs
A Guide to Music in Western Mass. (and sometimes Connecticut)
This week in Freak Scene, the Frost Heaves and Hales are back with a new EP, and our scopes pick up Rival Galaxies as they head to Holyoke for a Halloween show.
If Daniel Hales saves his saddest songs for his solo project Selah haleS, he’s stockpiled a fistful of rockers for his band the Frost Heaves & Hales. The Greenfield group is back with Ghost of a Chance to the Shadow of a Doubt, a propulsive five-song EP featuring pointed lyrics that frequently have a bite. (The group performs Saturday, Nov. 1, at Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton, and Sunday, Nov. 2, at the Lady Killegrew Café in Montague.)
Some of the songs on the EP date back years. Hales wrote opener “Losing My Mind” after breaking his wrist in a cycling accident in 2009, he wrote on the band’s blog, and while the song has often featured in the Frost Heaves’ live sets, it wasn’t until drummer Brian DiPippo’s five-year tenure in the group that Hales felt he had the right combination of musicians to record it. (DiPippo now plays with True Jackie, whose guitarist Noah Dowd recorded basic tracks for the EP in Easthampton and contributed guitar to two songs.) “Losing My Mind” starts with James Lowe playing a roving bassline that circles around Hales’ restrained guitar over the snick of a hi-hat before the track erupts into a full-on drum beat and roaring guitars.
Another track, “Lion in Wait,” has been hanging around for more than 20 years. With lyrics featuring a compendium of cliches that Hales turns on their heads — “Wait until the cows come home to roost,” he sings — it’s an upbeat tune with a jaunty beat and trebly guitars. It’s clear that other songs have more recent origins: “If Mosquitos Had Souls” makes scathing reference to current events, boosted by overdriven guitars and layers of vocals that are just out-of-sync enough to convey a sense of impassioned anger. With the guitars and Hales’ vocal melody, the track has an old-school prog-psych feel, like something Jethro Tull might have recorded in the early ’70s.
Though the Frost Heaves & Hales often demonstrate a pointed streak on Ghost of a Chance to the Shadow of a Doubt, there’s no mistaking their playful side: the band sounds loose and limber, and there’s an evident joy in what they’re doing. Plus, if you wear a costume to their show at Luthier’s, they’ll give you a free download code for the EP.
Rival Galaxies Get You Moving With Dance-Punk Songs
What do we know about Rival Galaxies? Not a ton, truth be told. It’s dance-punk from Amherst spearheaded by Mike Fucilli, who has released two songs this year and is performing tonight, Friday, at Tori Town in Holyoke on a bill with Nervous Surface, Outro and Peach Creek (send Tori Town a message on Instagram for the address).
One of those songs, “Faxes on a YACHT,” leans more toward punk, with serrated guitar parts cutting through whorls of synthesizers and shout-along vocals. The other, “Cash Monet,” emphasizes the dance side of dance-punk, with lush synth textures and a pulsing beat.
Rival Galaxies first started in 2012 in upstate New York, Fucilli said recently on the NEPM radio show “The Fabulous 413.” After five years, the band went dormant and Fucilli moved to Western Mass., where he revived the project and wrote a bunch of new music during the pandemic. When Fucilli had trouble finding collaborators on bass and drums, he turned to technology and began using a drum machine so he could play shows.
“I love playing in front of people and getting a room moving,” said Fucilli, who has cited LCD Soundsystem as an inspiration. Rival Galaxies are at work on an EP due sometime in early 2026.
Upcoming Concerts
Speaking of Outro, drummer Noam Schatz’s band the Lucky Shots play a free show Saturday, Nov. 1, at Progression Brewery in Northampton with the Original Cowards.
The Iron Horse in Northampton hosts Northampton string band Appalachian Still Dec. 12 (tickets), Whiskey Treaty Road Show Dec. 31 (tickets), veteran guitarist Albert Lee Jan. 14 (tickets), Haggis X-1, featuring Craig Downie of Enter the Haggis, Feb. 25 (tickets), New Orleans zydeco king CJ Chenier Feb. 27 (tickets) and Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket March 2 (tickets).
This one should be particularly interesting: Dilemastronauta y Su Tripulación Cósmica, the new quintet from the Combo Chimbita drummer, perform their distinctive mix of psych-rock, electronica and jazz Nov. 25 at the Parlor Room (tickets). Naturally, Secret Planet co-presents. Also at the Parlor Room: Love Crumbs and Mare Berger Jan. 23 (tickets), LeFever Feb. 7 (tickets), Boston's the Wolff Sisters (tickets), blues guitarist Guy Davis Feb. 20 (tickets), Peter Case April 9 (tickets) and the perennially underrated Kim Richey May 14 (tickets).
Bombyx in Florence presents Cuban jazz bandleader Omar Sosa Nov. 9 (tickets).
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit perform Feb. 22 at College Street Music Hall in New Haven (tickets).
Detroit hard-rockers Sponge play Dec. 12 at the Space Ballroom in Hamden (tickets).
That’s it for this week — Happy Halloween, and thank you for reading! If you like what you’ve seen, please share. Also, I’m always open to submissions. You can send music for coverage consideration to erdanton at gmail or reply to this email. Check out these guidelines first.
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