New music from Frig Dancer and Which Witch is Which arrives today on a new 12” split release c/o Ancient Temple Recordings.
Matt Carter
It’s been two years since Scott Miller and Andrew Martin made their debut as Frig Dancer. Known to many within the province’s music community as two-thirds of the sludge/grind trio Anthesis, the Quispamsis duo began writing music together as Frig Dancer to keep busy in the studio after the release of Anthesis’ 2017 full-length album, The Age of Self.
Frig Dancer’s debut, Hot Garbage, was released in May of 2019, supported by a tour through Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes as well as several shows throughout the province. In 2020, with live shows on hold, Miller and Martin returned to the studio to record songs for an upcoming split release.
“These songs were written in a roughly two-week period and we started recording them immediately after writing them,” said Miller. “They were originally for a planned split with Deep Fryer. There was a big time crunch to get it done because Deep Fryer wanted the split released for some upcoming shows they had booked. So, we cranked all these songs out and they ended up not recording any new songs. Great job, losers.”
Miller and Martin then thought about releasing the songs as a standalone EP, but eventually came back to the idea of a split release, reaching out to their friends in Moncton’s Which Witch is Which to join the project.
“Which Witch is Which had been talking about recording and releasing some of our new songs that we were excited about, but we didn’t quite have an album worth of songs at that point,” said Which Witch is Which drummer Nadine Paulin. “So, when the idea of doing a split with Frig Dancer came about, it was perfect timing. We all love their sound and playing shows with Scott and Andrew is always such a good time, the decision to go ahead with the split was a no-brainer.”
The split release which arrives this month on vinyl and as a digital release through Miller’s Ancient Temple Recordings label and features seven new songs from Frig Dancer and four new tracks from Which Witch is Which.
As with their debut, Frig Dancer’s contribution to the release, while rooted in the punk idiom, ties together a range of influences and directions, furthering the duo’s apparent unwillingness to remain within a single trajectory. When paired with the straight ahead of rock and roll of Which Witch is Which, this release finds it strength in its deliberate dichotomy.
“We don’t put any limits on ourselves and we don’t throw away any ideas without giving them a good try, so I can see us ending up all over the map style wise,” said Miller. “We should probably do some dance tunes since we have Dancer right in our name.”
Billy (Frig Dancer)/Power Trip (Which Witch is Which) will be available in independent record stores beginning in early June and can be purchased directly through the ATR website.
