The Bollard Bulletin for Aug. 10, 2026

When was the last time you heard a punk record and thought, Man, that bass player is great!? For me, after hearing Portland fivesome Freak Phone’s new EP, Fresh Set, I’d say this is probably the third time — the first two being The Clash and Minutemen’s Double Nickels on the Dime — so it’s been at least 35 years.

Actually, scratch that: it was 2018, when Portland cow-punk trio Midwestern Medicine dropped The Winking Badge, but you get my point. Bass is so undervalued in punk rock that, infamously, no one cared that Sid Viscous couldn’t play his, and duos like Half Japanese and The White Stripes made their names without one. Vocalists naturally get most of the attention in this genre, followed by guitarists and, on occasion, drummers. As with most metal albums, the low end is typically buried in the mix.

So shout-out to Freak Phone bassist Ethan Collins for his work on this six-song release! His playing stood out and impressed me from the get-go — that being opener “Firecracker Girl,” a fun-rock ride built on its tuneful pop bass line. I already nominated Freak Phone’s cover of “I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight,” from last year’s Demo, for Maine Song of the Summer 2026 honors, but this one is actually timely and equally good.

On the next track, “Milltown,” Collins’ ominous two-note riff drives the whole chugging train. Same thing on “Attention Economy” and “Love Trip,” both of which begin with Collins and drummer Jess Smith setting the stage upon which singer Rosie Thomas and guitarists Daryl Collins and Preston Haynes go wild.

The whole EP is great. I especially get a kick out of “Swamp Love,” the first single, the intro of which sounds so much like The Cult’s Electric that a cease-and-desist letter may even now be on its way by certified mail from whomever owns the publishing rights. And the minute-long blast “Class Unity” — “They’ve got it / why can’t we?” Thomas yells on the shout-along chorus.

Half the songs here are explicitly class-conscious, “Milltown” being the one set in Maine. “My life is a bitch / I turn the other cheek / but she still fucks me seven days a week,” Thomas sings on “Attention Economy.” Her energy is infectious, addled by the clean and crisp chords of the two six-stringers, Smith’s punchy drumming, and a punk bass player so good that you actually notice.