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