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Album Details

• Artist: The Frames
• Album: Burn The Maps
• Label: Anti/Plateau
• Year of Release: 2005
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2005-05-11

The Frames is a band from Ireland that have basically just been discovered over in North America. Burn The Maps is the bands sixth album and first proper one for Anti. Yeah, they good enough to be on the Epitaph subsidiary housing the likes of Tom Waits and now Neko Case. Burn the Maps is definitely not an instant album, you do have to spend time with the album. It's kind of a cross between mope-rock and arena-rock. For an example of the slow-core, you can take "A Caution To The Birds" and find that you are wondering if the song will never end. Not like you're in a hurry but that's the pace that The Frames take on multiple occasions. The opening track, "Happy", sets the pace and evokes every emotion but Happy. It's got a repetitive guitar riff allowing the vocals to lead the way. "Finally" brings us the most promising track as well as the most upbeat. It gets rocking at a very nice pace without tipping the boat. Then they get a little experimental on tracks like "Ship Caught In The Bay" and have fun with a drum machine. This ends up being one of my favorite tracks on Maps. They follow this one up with the ever so fragile "Keepsake", another of the albums many highlights. If you only give it one or two listens you may dismiss Burn The Maps. It does take some careful listening and attention.

Burn The Maps is an album that works well as both background music as well as headphone music. It's a very impressive album, one that The Frames may have a tough time topping.

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