Frente! (or Frente) is an Australian folk-pop and indie pop group which formed in 1989. The original line-up consisted of Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar (later replaced by Bill McDonald), and Mark Picton on drums (later replaced by Alastair Barden, then by Peter Luscombe).
In August 1991, they issued their debut extended play Whirled, which included the track, "Labour of Love". In March 1992, they released a second EP, Clunk, with its featured track "Ordinary Angels", peaking at No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was followed in October by " Kelly Street" (the unintentional misprint of "Accidentally Kelly Street" was retained) which reached No. 4. Their debut album, Marvin the Album, issued in November, peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart. "Labour of Love" was released as an EP outside of Australasia in 1994 as a CD single with a cover version of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" included.
The band split up in 1998, but have reunited three times to date – most recently in 2014. Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane wrote that the group's "quirky, irreverent, acoustic-based sound was at odds with the usual guitar-heavy, grunge trends of the day. The band's presentation had a tweeness about it that could have been off-putting if not for its genuine freshness and honesty".
History
Frente! were formed in Melbourne, as "Frente" in 1989 by Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar and Mark Picton on drums and recorder. The group were named after the Spanish word for 'forehead' and 'front', according to Inpress magazine "[i]t rhymes with 'heaven-sent-eh!'". The band spent two years performing in Melbourne's inner-city venues before, in August 1991, issuing their self-funded debut extended play, Whirled, on the Thumb Print label. Hart explained that the exclamation mark was added for the CD's cover art " don't write our name like that, but we thought we would on the CD covers because it looks good". "Labour of Love" was co-written by Austin and Hart.
Frente! signed with Mushroom Records's White Label which issued their second EP, Clunk, in March 1992. It featured the track, "Ordinary Angels", and peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was certified gold by ARIA for shipment of 35,000 copies. The album was also nominated for 'Best Cover Art' (by Hart and Louise Beach) and "Ordinary Angels" was nominated for 'Best Video' (directed by Robbie Douglas-Turner). Mammoth had also issued a seven-track extended play, Labour of Love. This included their acoustic cover version of New Order's 1986 hit, "Bizarre Love Triangle", The first single, "Sit on My Hands", peaked at No. 66 in Australia in July 1996.
During 1996, the group toured Europe, Asia and US for three months to promote the album. on keyboards while touring. John Everson of Illinois Entertainer, interviewed Hart in September and described Austin as her "on-again, off-again boyfriend", Hart detailed "Simon and I had a lot of shit to work out. We went out for a while and then we broke up and then we went on tour. It goes in and out of being fine." In Canada in August, and then Australia during December, they supported Alanis Morissette on her tour, promoting Jagged Little Pill. One of their new compositions, "Sleeping", appeared on Splendid's EP, States of Awake (2004). During late 2004, Austin and Hart reformed Frente! for acoustic shows in both New York and Los Angeles. The show also featured other early 1990s Melbourne bands: The Glory Box, The Hollowmen and The Fauves.
In March 2023, Frente! performed at MordiFest as part of the leadup to the 30th anniversary of Marvin the Album. Hart and Austin were joined by Tamara Murphy on electric bass guitar, Sophie Koh on keyboards and melodica, and Ben Wiesner on drums. The group also performed at the Castlemaine State Festival, at which O'Connor briefly joined the band on bass for "Accidently Kelly Street".
Frente! was selected as one of the bands as part of the Mushroom 50 Concert, celebrating 50 years of Mushroom Records with fifty songs for fifty years. Frente! performed Ordinary Angels in front of the live audience at Rod Laver Arena on 26 November 2023.
On 31 August 2024, Frente! performed at the reopened Punters Club.
In popular culture
" Kelly Street" was parodied by The Late Show, featuring Jane Kennedy, Tony Martin, Mick Molloy and Santo Cilauro. The parody was named "Accidentally Was Released". The song "Jungle" from Shape featured in an episode of the British television series Teachers. The band also guested in Home and Away in 1993, episode 1202. The song "Accidently Kelly Street" was featured in the 2002 Taiwanese film Blue Gate Crossing.
Their cover of "Bizarre Love Triangle" was one of Stephen Merchant's "Song for the Ladies" on The Ricky Gervais Show.
“Book Song" was featured on the soundtrack of the American television series My So-Called Life.
“Ordinary Angels” aired on American television series Melrose Place and was featured on the soundtrack album.
Discography
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Album details
! scope="col" colspan="5"| Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Certifications<br/><small>(sales thresholds)</small>
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUS<br/>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US<br/>200<br/>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US<br/>Heat<br/>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK<br/>
|-
| colspan="6" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year
! scope="col" colspan="5" | Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;" | Certifications
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUS<br />
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US<br/>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US<br/>Alt<br/>
|-
! scope="row"| " Kelly Street"
| 1992
| 4 || 4 || 80 || — || —
|
- ARIA: Platinum
| rowspan="3"| Marvin the Album
|-
! scope="row"| "No Time"
| rowspan="2"| 1993
| 50 || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row"| "Ordinary Angels"<br/> <small>(North America and Europe only)</small>
| — || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row"| "Lonely"
| rowspan="3"| 1994
| 88 || — || — || — || —
|
| Lonely (EP) (Australia)
|-
! scope="row"| "Bizarre Love Triangle"
| 7 || — || 76 || 49 || 10
|
| rowspan="2"| Lonely (EP) (Australia) /<br />Labour of Love (EP)
|-
! scope="row"| "Labour of Love"
| — || — || — || 106 || 9
|
|-
! scope="row"| "Sit on My Hands"
| rowspan="3"| 1996
| 66 || — || — || — || —
|
| rowspan="5"| Shape
|-
! scope="row"| "Horrible"
| — || — || 163 || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row"| "What's Come Over Me"
| 116 || — || 83 || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row"| "Goodbye Goodguy"
| 1997
| 197 || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row"| "Jungle"
| 1998
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row"| "Try to Think Less"
| 2005
| — || — || — || — || —
|
| single only
|-
| colspan="9" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}
- a "Labour of Love" was used to promote the Whirled EP release in Australia. Despite being an EP, Whirled charted on the Australian albums chart.
- b "Ordinary Angels" was used to promote the Clunk EP release in Australia.
- c "Lonely" was initially released as a 3-track single in Australia in January 1994, when it peaked at number 88. It was re-packaged as a 5-track EP with "Bizarre Love Triangle" added and used to promote the EP in May 1994, when it peaked at number 7.
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. Frente! have won two awards.
!
|-
| rowspan="5"|1993
| Marvin the Album
| Breakthrough Artist - Album
|
| rowspan="5"|
|-
| "Ordinary Angels"
| Breakthrough Artist - Single
|
|-
| "Accidently Kelly Street"
| Highest Selling Single
|
|-
| Robbie Douglas-Turner for Frente! "Ordinary Angels"
| Best Video
|
|-
| Angie Hart and Louise Beach for Frente! Marvin the Album
| Best Cover Art
|
|-
|1996
| John Hillcoat and Polly Borland for Frente! "Sit on My Hands"
| Best Video
|
|
|-