The Frights

Formed in Poway, in the San Diego area, The Frights emerged in the early 2010s around Mikey Carnevale and Richard Dotson. The band’s early identity was built on a mix of surf punk, garage punk, punk rock and touches of doo-wop, and later settled into a four-piece with Marc Finn on drums and Jordan Clark on guitar. The Frights’ first releases include the EPs Dead Beach and Fur Sure in 2013, followed by a self-titled debut album the same year, released after their initial run on the local Postmark label. In 2016, You Are Going to Hate This—produced by Zac Carper of FIDLAR and released on Dangerbird—marked tighter songwriting while keeping the band’s nervous, melodic energy. With Hypochondriac in 2018, released on Epitaph, The Frights shifted toward a more direct, introspective indie rock without abandoning the punk urgency of their early work. That evolution continued on Everything Seems Like Yesterday (2020), born from sessions originally intended for Carnevale’s solo project, and on Gallows Humour (2023). Between California clubs, independent rock tours and affinities with bands like FIDLAR and SWMRS, The Frights have developed a sound where catchy choruses, punk tension and pop melancholy coexist bluntly.