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If The Frames' last record Burn The Maps was a bit
of a slow burner then their latest release The Cost is a bit
of a turnaround. Where it took a few listens and a bit of space to
really start to absorb the songs on Burn The Maps, this new
set of songs is easily understood, more direct, and punching - in
true Glen Hansard form - straight to the heart. This set of
tracks is a bit slower and more melancholy than much of The Frames'
previous work but with a more substantial sense of orchestration.
"Falling Slowly" fills the lead single spot and rightly
so… the track is deliberate and steeped in a rich beauty consisting
of lush string accompaniment and one of Hansard's finest vocal performances
to date. "People Get Ready" is another fine example of the
kind of dynamism that has made The Frames one of the greatest modern
rock bands. The song builds from a quiet payer-like whispering to
a tremendous depth of sound, drums and guitar pounding along with
Hansard's vocal message, "We have all the time in the world to
get it right, to get it right/and we have all the love in the world
to set alight, to set alight". "When Your Mind's Made Up"
is the quintessential Frames' rocker; driving drumming that accompanies
a beautiful arpeggiated guitar line that slowly builds to the staggering
weight of the climax of the song with Hansard chanting his message
of love and betrayal and delicate hope.
On The Cost, Glen Hansard is accompanied once more by his
regular cast of bandmates: Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Joseph
Doyle, Rob Bochnik, and Johnny Boyle. The record
is filled with the exact caliber of music that the world has come
to expect of Glen Hansard and The Frames… songs that are at once
highly personal and introspective while being a bit melancholy and
somehow holding onto a sense of incredible positivism. Hansard understands
the world better than most folks, I believe… he knows that amidst
all the struggle and bad things are rays of light and beauty that
make life the enduringly fantastic journey that it can be if one is
aware of the opportunities. The perfect soundtrack for that journey
of discovery and magic is now, and will always be, the music of The
Frames.
-Embo Blake
Track Listing:
1. Song For Someone
2. Falling Slowly
3. People Get Ready
4. Rise
5. When Your Mind's Made Up
6. Sad Songs
7. The Cost
8. True
9. The Side You Never Get To See
10. Bad Bone
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