Frankie Archer combines traditional balladry with very contemporary-sounding electronica. This idea in itself isn’t new, but Archer’s fresh approach and sure hand – and, most importantly, her willingness to experiment – result in a sound that is unlike anyone else. Her first two releases, the EPs Never So Red (2023) and Pressure and Persuasion (2024), seemed like fully-formed, finely-cut gems, but debut album The Dance of Death, which was co-produced by Kylie Minogue collaborator Guy Massey (released June 5th on prrr of the bear), sees her take her artistry to new levels. As the title suggests, this is a record built around the ideas of death and mortality, but it is anything but one-dimensionally depressing.
The way the album quietly foregrounds theme and structure without compromising on the quality of the material is reminiscent of Shirley Collins’ output in the late 60s and early 70s. There is a sense of care towards the source material, which is lit up rather than diminished by the modern arrangements. Subtlety can be infinitely more expressive – and more experimental – than wholesale reinvention, and Archer understands this innately. This expressive subtlety is perhaps most apparent on the closing track, The Lover’s Ghost, where after an opening verse in which Archer’s voice is accompanied by minimal, glitchy electronics, we’re assailed by teeming banks of synths: this synth swell effectively becomes the chorus. And while, for a few seconds, it is sonically overwhelming, it is never narratively overwhelming. To put it another way: Archer knows just how much to hold back in order to let the melodies and the words of these old tunes speak for themselves.
The song that moves furthest away from its source is the title track, a gleeful foray into electroclash synths, retrofuturistic burbles and trance-like repetitions. But even here, the song’s medieval roots are palpable. The Unquiet Grave exists at the other end of the spectrum, Archer’s treated vocals echo and vibrate, the minimal electronic warble and scratch. Death and the Maiden breaks into a powerful instrumental lurch, in marked contrast to the sweet, high singing, but for all the heightened melodrama, we are always aware that the song’s power is built on the bare bones of its traditional melody.
These songs may be old, but Archer has the ability to draw out the strands in them that are uncomfortably close to contemporary issues. The Demon Lover turns in her hands from a cautionary tale to a rallying cry against the patriarchy, while she acknowledges that Oxford City’s lyrics – delivered here with disarming sweetness – could be applied to incel culture. She is also attuned to the working-class history of folk music: her version of In Brunton Town focuses on the violence perpetrated against a member of the serving class by murderers from privileged backgrounds. It’s not hard to see the line between these ideas and the political currents of today.
Historical, regional and class resonances exist not only in the choice of songs but in the way they are sung. Archer’s North-East accent is discernible throughout, and while it’s good to have any regional representation in folk song, there is something about that particular accent that seems perfectly suited to the themes and the overall mood of the album. Archer’s singing can be both playful and mournful, sometimes in the space of a single line. The Outlandish Knight is full of breathless, youthful expectation, until its spoken middle section, where the narrator suddenly turns the tables on her murderous suitor. In a brilliant piece of dramatic timing, Archer switches from coquettish to coldly powerful in the blink of an eye.
This level of control over the mood of a song is the sign of an artist full of confidence and at the peak of her ability. That makes it all the more remarkable that The Dance of Death is Frankie Archer’s debut album. She is a one-of-a-kind talent with a huge career ahead of her.
The Dance of Death (June 5th, 2026) prrr of the bear
Order via Bandcamp: https://frankiearcher.bandcamp.com/album/the-dance-of-death