Croydon punk duo Frauds satirically take down fake news and fascist leaders on “Putin’s Day Off”

05 July 2019, 10:57 | Written by Kate Crudgington

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(Frauds)

With sardonic lyrics, savage guitar licks and a parodic set of visuals, Frauds' “Putin’s Day Off” is a humorous exploration of the media and how it can be misinterpreted on every level, from politics to “protein-rich-vegan-gluten-free-tofu” dishes.

Frauds' darkly humorous demeanour carries the punk duo through cutting themes on their new track, with a healthy dose of cynicism about the public's relationship to fake news and politics.

“'Putin's Day Off' is a song about perception,” guitarist and vocalist Mikey Alvarez explains. “Vladimir Putin wrestles bears, scores more goals than anyone else in All-Star ice hockey matches, and uncovers ancient Greek urns when dabbling in archaeology. Kim Jong-un completed a Rubik's cube at 2 years old, learned to drive at 3 years old, and climbed a 2,700m mountain in leather shoes.

“Even though it's fun to point out and laugh at these ridiculous claims, 'Putin's Day Off' is more about the things we choose to believe than the geopolitical landscape. Obviously, everything gets more complicated if you live in a country where it's dangerous to openly call these out as bullshit. It's hard to know what to believe when we're fed what the media outlets give us, hence why we voted for Brexit.”

Since their inception in 2012, Frauds have released their 2017 debut album With Morning Toast & Jam & Juice and shared stages with Idles, USA Nails, Slaves and Kagoule.

We can’t necessarily trust our social media feeds, but with Frauds' intense, witty, pummelling tunes we can trust that they'll be around to parody the madness.

“Putin’s Day Off” is out today. They play Lenmania on 7 July at O2 Academy Islington and Sunburn all-dayer on 3 August at Windmill Brixton. Find more dates on Frauds' Facebook.