I'm not sure where I heard of this Irish indie band, but apparently, I purchased their 15th album, Burn the Maps, back in July, 2006 (Though the Austin Chronicle calls it their 8th. Hmmm). Sometimes new CDs get buried amidst other new CDs from the same time and thus don't get a proper listen. Anyway, long winded intro aside, the Frames album started playing this evening, and I really like it, especially the first song, Happy. I see how they oft are compared to the Pixies: tempo and volume change drastically within songs. Also, you have to like violin, or else you'll hate it, nearly every cut has violin or fiddle somewhere.
Johnny Loftus of Allmusic writes:
Burn the Maps > Overview ))):
the Frames' music, which on Maps swings from the barbed, railing guitar rage of the Pixies nod “Underglass” to songs where a whispering, almost self-conscious Hansard stands next to roaring chorus set pieces that bring the band's full complement of guitars and sweeping fiddle to the table. In “Fake” he delivers the bitter central question -- “Come on the guy's a fake/What do you love him for?” -- as both a scream and a plea, while “Happy” makes incredible use of studio mixing to put the vocals in one ear, lingering harmonies in the other, and layers of acoustic guitar, swelling strings, and even a little electric squelch under the whole bit. That's the opener, and it brings listeners into the Frames' world of raw elegance. “Ship Caught in the Bay” starts with gentle percussion and a faraway melodic lilt, but drops in stuttering treated percussion near the three-minute mark for an atmospheric effect not unlike what the Doves do so well. It's also a bridge to Burn the Maps' final portion, three lengthy tracks that essay the Dirty Three's epic sway, build from aching acoustic guitar into a sort of comforting love song (“Wake up/It's your love calling,” goes “Suffer in Silence”), and drift away on swirling fiddle and tinkling piano.
Of course, everyone doesn't like it, some reviewers call it bombastic-rock. No accounting for taste, I s'pose.
