Nineties alt-rock blended a lot of sounds and styles. It drew heavily on both punk and arena rock, with elements of pop, goth, and heavy metal in the mix. That’s a stew that Denton’s Jessie Frye served up with enthusiasm on her debut EP, Boys’ Club, which drops surprisingly danceable hooks into songs that belie the ripped fishnets and caked-on-eyeliner aesthetics that Frye cultivates. The guitars are crunchy, the hooks are catchy, and in the video for “Big Bad Wolf,” which premieres below, the entire presentation definitely wouldn’t have been out of place on 120 Minutes or Alternative Nation.
“‘Big Bad Wolf’ has the perfect energy for a nineties goth-grunge throwback,” Frye explains. “I channeled a bit of Shirley Manson mixed with my own personal style. I think there’s a certain strength that was represented by women in that era that I’d like to bring back to the forefront of music.” Hence the fuzzy coat, combat boots, and black dress, which Frye scoured vintage stores to collect.
It’s a look that has aged better than anyone might have guessed. Similarly, the formula of bringing distorted guitars from the verse into into a shimmering pop hook in the chorus and the bridge still sounds pretty great too. If nineties rock is destined to come back around—and it most assuredly is—we’ll settle for getting the best parts of it.
