Tuesday, February 27, 2007

The Frames - The Coast

The Frames are one of my favourite bands. "For The Birds" is without a doubt one of my desert island discs. It's with dissapointment then that I read Stylus Magazine's review of The Coast, their latest album.

In giving it a "D-" they report

"The Cost tries to recapture the stately slow burn of For the Birds, but ultimately suffers the same fate of the poppin’ fresh dough that was Leaders of the Free World, Elbow’s fall from grace. Ironic that these two groups were once posited as rougher, more masculine alternatives to Travis. Fran and ’em never sounded this soggy, and The Cost is basically Wonder Bread dragged all the way across the pond. Talk about the last laugh of the laughter."


I can't comment, I haven't heard any of the album yet. Hopefully Stylus got it wrong.


Here's a review of their gig in December 2005.

and of a Glen Hansard solo gig I was at.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Cost is a very good album, jam packed with beautiful songs. it is not the rawest or edgiest of The Frames material but the quality of song, perfomance and production is undeniable.

I like 'Leaders of the Free World' though so what would I know! Though it does have a terrible cover.... Elbow are an underrated band.

dg

Steve said...

D-? Not a chance. While The Cost isn't the best album the Frames have done, it's still a good album with several standout tracks. Granted, I'm still waiting for the great album I know they're capable of, but this will do just fine for now.

Oh, and I can't blame 'em for not having the greatest album ever given just how good Glen's solo album was.