Friday 9/11: Fraxiom—"on the porch"
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song by the Chicago experimental pop songwriter Fraxiom.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song by the Chicago experimental pop artist Fraxiom.
Fraxiom—“on the porch”
Eli Enis:
Fraxiom is a songwriter currently based in Chicago who’s from the internet pop universe that 100 gecs, glaive, and A.G. Cook stem from. From what I can tell, they’ve only been putting out music under the Fraxiom moniker for less than a year, but they’ve quickly become quite popular in that sphere for a couple of really amazing guest features, most notably the Gupi collaboration “Thos Moser”. I loved that song so much when I first heard it (I still do) that I went back and listened to every solo song Fraxiom had released at the time, and sadly none of them had as strong a hook as the one on “Thos Moser”. About a month after “Thos Moser”, they guested on the William Crooks standout “CRASHTHECAR”, which they killed, and shortly after that they had a wonderful feature on the FROMTHEHEART record (which will one day be considered seminal, mark my words).
I loved Fraxiom’s vocals on both of those songs and I was hopeful that whatever solo material they put out next would seal the deal. “on the porch” is the lead single from an upcoming EP and unfortunately I’m not that into it. I think the way they speed up their vocals in the first verse is interesting, but I think the main melody is a little lackluster, and I think the abrupt beat-switch in the middle feels more like a distraction than a different yet valuable part of the song. According to their Twitter, they have a ton more projects coming down the pipe, so I’m not too worried. You’ll get me one day, Fraxiom.
Eric Bennett:
I consider myself a casual fan of Fraxiom. I haven’t exactly dived deeply into their work, but I appreciate their work with Gupi, and think “Thos Moser” is one of the best songs of the year largely because of Fraxiom’s influence. That said, I find myself unmoved by their new song “on the porch.” It sort of loses me and wins me back as it moves through sections that sound like their own separate songs. Their pitched vocals in the first half get to be a touch grating, but then, once pitched even higher, I’m suddenly back on board. It’s ultimately too scattered to truly win me over.