“Frontier Ruckus brings a contemporary angle to its music—eschewing traditional tales of trains, whiskey, and rambling for reflections on suburbia, family and ‘life on the edge of the interstate.”
– NPR
“Their songs are full of rich, rural details: frozen lakes, swaying trees, highway lights glowing in the deep night.”
– Rolling Stone
“A melting ice cream cone, parking lot driving lessons, a climb on top of the shed… a lot of Frontier Ruckus songs paint vivid pictures of times that felt simpler, and — in an era when irony is often used as a musical safety net — the band isn’t afraid of being earnest.”
- CBC
…”Since the release of their 2008 debut album, the songs of Frontier Ruckus have delivered a singularly detailed representation of the glorious yet grim minutiae of Midwestern suburban life. The obsessively crafted lyrical world of songwriter Matthew Milia is brought to life by banjo player David Jones and multi-instrumentalist Zachary Nichols, whose contributions feel telepathically attuned. Add in the transformative harmony vocals of Anna Burch—who has graced most of the band’s catalog and achieved a meteoric solo career in her own right—and a richness emerges that sounds like no other band. From stages at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo to the intimate living rooms of fans, this magnetic chemistry has helped Frontier Ruckus garner a dedicated following across the United States and Europe. In 2017 the band released their 5th LP, Enter the Kingdom—co-produced by founding Wilco drummer, Ken Coomer. The record’s complex rhyme schemes and winsome charm were praised by legendary rock critic Robert Christgau. After slowing the tempo of their output and performing rather selectively, the band released their 6th album On the Northline to much anticipation—delivering more of the magic that led AllMusic to deem Frontier Ruckus “one of the best things to come out of Michigan since Faygo Redpop.”
