51122 by The FMs

THE FMs ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM, 51122, OUT ON NOVEMBER 22

STREAM “A MEANS TO AN END” (JOY DIVISION COVER) HERE

“The spirit of punk music lives on a little longer.” - Metal Epidemic

The FMs announce the release of 51122, out on November 22. Produced by the legendary David Werner and inspired by lo-fi dream pop, classic new wave and disco, the album follows PINK + BLACK, their sophomore record released earlier this year to acclaim from NY Daily News, MetroWeekly, GLAAD, Mundane Magazine, New Noise Magazine, and beyond. 51122 corresponds with May 11, 2022 - the day that Frankie Rex, founding member of The FMs, passed away from a fentanyl overdose.

Of the lead single, “A Means to an End” (Joy Division cover), Matte Namer shares: “Frankie and I were for years tossing around doing a cover song but could never agree on the right one. We’ve always been into Joy Division and actually covered ‘She’s Lost Control’ in our first band. One day I asked Frankie what their favorite Joy Division song was and he said ‘A Means to an End’ and I was like, let’s just do that. I went off the rails on this synth & digi drums-only arrangement trying to harness the chaotic unexpected nature of JD. Frankie did this mind-blowing performance, maybe my favorite thing we’ve ever recorded of their voice in three takes. Our producer for 51112, David Werner, then took our demos, simplified them a bit in a way and put his own spin on a few things that ultimately elevated the recording quite significantly.”

Of 51122, they note: “I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud and excited for an album release. There’s an identity and flow to these ten songs that feel like our most developed work thus far. We got to work with David Werner who understood our music and energy and how to elevate it and direct it. It's also a bit somber being the last music that I think will ever be released with Frankie’s incredible, powerful, unique voice. I think there's something about that that makes me remember they are really gone, like an orchid blooming from a coffin nail. 51122 is the date Frankie passed away, but is also a type of symbol in a way, or perhaps a word. I’m not sure what that meaning is yet, perhaps the orchid needs to grow.”

The FMs will celebrate the release of 51122 this November with a record release show in NYC. Further details will be revealed shortly.

More about The FMs
High school friends Matte Namer (she/they) and Frankie Rex (he/they) began The FMs in 2016, forging a close bond through their respective journeys coming out as transgender and shared love of synthesizers.
The next six years saw The FMs create an entire community around their illegal SVBVERT shows on a ferry boat in the industrial canals of Bushwick, where they also recorded and self-produced three full-length LPs.

Their debut LP Machinacene Epoch (2017) irreverently coupled 90s psychedelic-industrial grunge with dance pop, earning The FMs the title of “New York’s outré band of sonic seditionaries” from BlackBook Magazine. Machianacene Epoch cemented The FMs’ commitment to a traditional approach to the creation of albums, demonstrating their philosophy that each release should have its own identity and be a standalone sonic statement.

The duo’s music evolved in a softer, more personal direction for the birth of their sophomore double-LP PINK + BLACK. Between 2017 and 2020, Namer clocked a whopping 2,000 hours in their underwater studio recording, producing, and tinkering with her analog synths. The result was a shimmering sonic odyssey, nodding to early synth pioneers like Brian Eno, Kraftwerk, and Gary Numan, all firmly grounded by the aching influence of lyric-forward 90s rock bands like Nirvana.

Before The FMs could celebrate the release of PINK + BLACK, Rex passed away from a fentanyl overdose in 2022. This devastating loss put a years-long pause on the project, but even death ultimately could not stop Frankie’s voice from being heard. Two years later Namer told NY Daily News, “From almost the moment they passed on, I knew this was my responsibility - I had to make sure that this work that they had done, that the world got to hear it and see it.”

PINK + BLACK was released posthumously in 2024 and received recognition in multiple major publications including NY Daily News, MetroWeekly, GLAAD, Mundane Magazine, and New Noise Magazine. In anticipation of this new chapter, Namer reformed The FMs in Ithaca, NY with trans musicians Bubba Crumrine (guitars), Basim Hussain (synths, keys), and Nick Scollard (drums). The double-LP and new live band made their debut at the first-ever Frankie Fest, a tribute to Frankie Rex and fundraiser for Chosen Family Law Center.

The FMs are back with a new ferocity, recording and performing all-new material inspired by lo-fi dream pop, classic new wave and disco. As Metal Epidemic lauds in their glowing review of PINK + BLACK, “the spirit of punk music lives on a little longer.”

The FMs are a bastion of queer music. Formed in 2017 by Matte Namer (they/them) and Frankie Rex (they/he), who met in high school in New York City, the Brooklyn-bred band exudes subversion with style (and of course, sex), rethinking long-standing societal programming, and the rebellion of simply being one’s authentic self all through their politically charged pop missives.

thefmsmusic.com