Tony Frissore is back with “Bad Strategies,” enlisting some groove-intensive funk that layers a hook laden rhythm over a serious message concerning leadership, accountability, and consequence. Penned against a backdrop of increasing tension between world powers, the single is written from a general national malaise about civic apathy, asking what occurs when those in elected power suffer the loss of mores and who ultimately pays the price of failed policy. It’s a statement of now spoken as much through clarity as chaos.
Born from a profound love of funk, jazz, and improvisation, Frissore’s musical quest meanders from Boston to New Orleans and across Europe, all while soaking in the global influences and club culture he was reintroduced to when he returned home. You can hear that lived-in musicality throughout “Bad Strategies,” which sounds both fully formed and of the moment. The track doesn’t scream its message; it allows the groove to do the heavy lifting, drawing us in before unveiling its deeper purpose.
Musically, the track is anchored by a taut, assured rhythm section that latches drums and bass to an insistent groove. Keys and guitar provide shading and velocity; a show-stopping organ solo at the track’s core offers some release and reflection. It’s a section that reinforces the song’s tension, beckoning you to move while also providing space to process the weight of the theme. Here we find the song at its absolute best: somewhere between frenetic and contemplative.
In place of the idiom in which we attribute specific events to blame or hold accountable, "Bad Strategies" offers an expanded understanding of power and responsibility. It is a discussion of how decisions made at the top have repercussions that travel outward and touch lives many steps removed from the banter in the command room. Mixing classic funk textures with contemporary urgency, Tony Frissore offers a song that keeps bodies moving and brains working, proof that groove-forward music can still pose challenging questions and beg for attention without losing its soul.