This Frontier Needs Heroes | This Frontier Needs Heroes

FRESH BAKED
in NYC
This Frontier Needs Heroes
This Frontier Needs Heroes
2009 | Self-Released
C

Brooklyn-based brother-sister duo This Frontier Needs Heroes do not sound like city folk. Their self-titled debut LP is all open air, broken hearts, and quaint countryside. It’s the Old West by way of Williamsburg; it’s more Bonnie and Clyde than Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger. But their outer borough address sabotages the whole thing.

Their Myspace page rattles off a list of “authentic” American influences (Townes Van Zandt, Woody Guthrie, and Roy Orbison, to name a few) but namedropping can’t stand in for sincerity.

Lead singer Brad Lauretti’s vocals are touching – his voice seems to crack at just the right moments – but his simple lyrics and predictable rhymes (“Something’s gonna strike you down/ Something’s gonna turn you around/ Something’s gonna make you feel like everyone’s around”) are just disappointing. The album’s centerpiece, “I Can’t Do It All By Myself,” suits the limp lyrics, but only because it sounds like a lullaby.

This Frontier Needs Heroes just seem a little disingenuous, like two kids playing pretend. They label themselves as outlaws and revolutionaries, but aside from occasionally featuring the flute, their songs are pretty safe. “Long Gone” tries to swagger like a lone ranger, but it’s sung by a gentleman.

Opening track “Firefly” is a fitting introduction to the album: brother Brad wonders when he’ll have a hate-free heart while sister Jessica harmonizes over simple guitar-picking and tense strings. It’s pretty, but it’s all presentation. And for one moment, Brad’s lyrics don’t need any polishing: “I’m not gonna sit here and tell you that I’m right.”

by Kyle McGovern