Indie-pop icons Frente! announce anniversary tour of debut record ‘Marvin The Album’

More than 30 years after they took the Australian music world by storm, Melbourne indie-pop icons Frente are hitting the road to celebrate the anniversary of their debut record, Marvin The Album.

Set to do a full lap of the country in May and June this year, the tour kicks off with a hometown Melbourne show, and hits Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide before finishing up at Badlands Bar in Perth on Saturday, June 10, with support from local talent Lo.

First forming in the late 80s around the core duo of Angie Hart and Simon Austin, Frente gained a following for their quirky, catchy, and dreamlike compositions. Following the release of their 1991 EP Whirled, Frente signed with Mushroom Records, and gained widespread attention for 1992’s Clunk EP, which hit the top three on the Australian charts, eventually going Gold. Mere months later, Frente released their debut full-length Marvin The Album in November 1992.

Singles such as Accidently Kelly Street, No Time, and Ordinary Angels received widespread airplay, while the record would go on to reach #5 in Australia, #4 in New Zealand, and top the US Top Heatseekers chart ahead of an eventual Platinum certification in their home country. Frente went on to tour internationally, playing alongside the likes of Counting Crows, The Beautiful South, and Alanis Morissette, and even appearing on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in the US.

Now, following a 21st birthday celebration (and reissue) of Marvin The Album in 2014, Frente are set to honour the record’s pearl anniversary with an Australian tour which will see them playing the album in full across the country.

“It has been my dream to be a ‘lifer’ in music and hitting a milestone like this while still practising our craft is fulfilment personified for me,” said Angie Hart of the achievement.

Angie Hart and Simon Austin will be joined on the road by a line-up which includes bassist Tamara Murphy (Spirograph Studies, Kate Miller-Heidke, Paul Grabowsky), award-winning songwriter Sophie Koh on keys, and percussionist Ben Wiesner (Missy Higgins, The Audreys, Rob Snarski). “These three are all bringing a different energy and sound to the music and keeping the eclectic ethos of Frente alive,” said Angie Hart of the touring line-up.

Following the release of Marvin The Album in 1992, Frente would release the album Shape in 1996 before calling it quits two years later. Since then, the group has been active sporadically, releasing an EP together and touring on and off. Angie Hart and Simon Austin have both embarked upon various musical ventures consistently from that time. Throughout it all though, their 1992 debut album has maintained a constant source of enjoyment and fulfilment for not only their fans, but themselves as well.

“It’s so great to be playing these songs live again,” said Angie Hart. “They take on a new meaning and I gain a new and deepened reverence for them every time we open up the book on these songs. In the decade between the last time we played this album, we seem to always forget how the songs go and what they are about. We are approaching them with fresh ears and hearts and seeing them with a different perspective that only time can bring. The love we have for our younger selves now is full of compassion and, at this point, intrigue – we did that?!”

Frente’s Marvin The Album anniversary tour hits Badlands Bar on Saturday, June 10, 2023. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 3 from oztix.com.au