Frames Burn The Maps CD

The Frames: Rob Bochnik, Joseph Doyle, Glen Hansard, Colm Mac Con Iomaire.
Audio Mixer: David Odlum.
Recording information: Black Box Studios, Angers, France; Electrical Audio, Chicago, IL; Joe's House.
Photographers: Daragh McDonagh; Zuzi.
The Frames have been fighting it out for 15 years, issuing albums that explode in the Czech Republic and nowhere else, go platinum in Galway but can't get noticed in the U.S.A. They should finally get their due with Burn the Maps. It's the determined Irish combo's first studio effort for Anti-, the Epitaph signature label that showcases such disparate and discerning acts as Joe Henry, the Locust, and Jolie Holland, and Glen Hansard and the lads fit in there just fine -- Anti-'s an oddly shaped place, but it offers artists room to move. The same applies to 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. Sometimes it seems like the Frames are holding back on Maps. The single "Finally" is one of the record's most deliberate moments, but it could have let Colm Mac Con Lomaire's fiddle hit a little harder. And though "Dream Awake"'s slow build is standard operating procedure for the band, it doesn't really climax as much as it plateaus. These minor missteps, however, don't lessen the album's gravity. Burn the Maps is an elemental journey that tugs at the heart and sticks around in the mind -- just as the Frames have been doing for years. ~ Johnny Loftus
One of Ireland's most accomplished musical exports, the Frames built a fan base at home and abroad with tireless touring and passionate albums such as 1996's FITZCARRALDO and 2001's FOR THE BIRDS. BURN THE MAPS, the Frames' 2005 debut for the Anti label, is arguably their most focused and polished effort to date. The band's simmering intensity, folk-rock leanings, and sometimes explosive, dynamic rock (which can rival Radiohead and U2 in its epic sweep) are brought to the perfect synthesis here.
The focus of the group is vocalist Glen Hansard, whose approach ranges from a breathy whisper to a falsetto coo to a full-blown wrenching wail. Violinist Colm Mac Con Iomaire adds brilliantly chosen textures to the songs, lending an orchestral-pop dimension to the band's folk/alternative-rock amalgam. From "Happy," the lilting opener, BURN THE MAPS is surprisingly restrained, yet the fire is always burning fiercely beneath the surface, erupting on the majestic "Fake" and the nervous, post-punk-inflected "Underglass" and moving toward mercurial shifts on "Finally." The album is arranged so that its crests and falls create a remarkably cohesive listening experience, one that promises the Frames even wider acclaim.Alternative Press (p.132) - 3 stars out of 5 - "BURN THE MAPS' muted vibe demands that you turn down the lights, fire up the candles and listen hard."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.98) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[A]n overwhelming record that bends and blusters with grand passions, bittersweet beauty and no small hint of desperation."