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Rating: The Frames, led by singer and guitarist Glen Hansard, have long been one of the best-kept secrets of Ireland's music scene. After nearly a decade of activity, it was with the release of For the Birds (in 2001) that the group, initially an underground cult confined mostly to their homeland, became the subject of word-of-mouth capable of transcending the limits of patchy distribution.
Recorded between Cork and Chicago, this album features the participation of Rachel Grimes from Rachel's (her piano meditations on the instrumental In The Deep Shade open the CD in the best possible way), Craig Ward (as co-producer) and Steve Albini, whose presence is strongly felt in the guitar explosion of a track like Santa Maria. But even setting aside the presence of such guests, the Frames stand out particularly for an extremely varied songwriting ability. Alongside tracks of a more conventional format (the folk of Lay Me Down, or the electronically tinged folk of Fighting On The Stairs) there are pieces of uncommon intensity: the tear-jerker What Happens When The Heart Just Stops, the sweet lullaby of Giving Me Wings, and the eccentric Early Bird, with noise hints, lo-fi electronics, and a convulsive finale that blends all these elements; similarly, Glen Hansard's singing can go from the most reassuring whisper to a scream that calls upon all the air passing through his lungs (as happens, for example, in Headlong).
But beyond the emotions that this group manages to convey, it's in the booklet accompanying the CD that Glen Hansard sums up - better than any review - the essence of this album:
"The ultimate measure of success in this music lies in the ability of these people to give their manifold talents over to one single co-operative effort: the realisation of a dream about music which we continue to have and cherish"
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Lay Me Down (03:11)
I will write you letters that
Explain the way I'm thinking now
I, I will return to you
What I have taken long before
I, I will return again
When it gets dark and day is done
And lay me down
In the hallowed ground
Down by your side I will stay
So lay me down
And if you wanna stay with me
Then let me know before it's light
I, I will recoil myself
Into the black and darkest night
And lay me down
In the hallowed ground
Where my father waits I will stay
So lay me down
And lay me down
In the hallowed ground
Down by your side I will stay
So lay me down
03 What Happens When the Heart Just Stops (04:20)
So what happens when the heart just stops
Stops caring for anyone
The hollow in your chest dries up
And you stop believing
So what happens when the heart gives up
But the body goes on living
The blood crawls to a slow and stops
And flows away
Well we got no-one to meet
No love we would beseech
We only have ourselves to blame for everything
The was no answer in the dust
And I'm missing you so much
And now you're sleeping
And I'm leaving
Empty-handed waiting
Time it will subside and we'll agree
It was a given
Well there was no standard we could set
And the world it does regret
To have to leave you in this state of bereavement
You see I'm feeling everything
Nothing gets by
There is a hollow in my chest
The time I won't forget
There is no comfort in the eyes
They put us always to the test
I can't prepare myself for that
But I work it out in time
There is a love that flows between us
Ever-changing everyday
I worked myself up to a crawl
But I'm not fearing it at all
We have no reason left to stay
And that's why we're leaving
And there was no answer in the dust
And the one I feared to trust
There is a lie that drags us
Beating and pulling into disappointment
I'm disappointed
I'm disappointed
I'm disappointed
It's so late, till you're gone
04 Headlong (05:20)
Well I never want to land
'Cause I'm high on you
Beyond all sleight of hand
And tell me if you're sure
And I won't pretend to fall down anymore
'Cause you'll all I really want
Headlong, I'm falling in headlong
And act a little braver
And the lies that try to trip you
Will be my slaves
And tell me if you're sure
And the precious, precious waiting I've endured
'Cause you're all I'll ever want
Headlong, I'm falling in headlong
06 Giving Me Wings (03:34)
You're a fool man
You threw it away
You kill her
With your confidence
In the old days
The cause you embraced
The simple things
That people over complicate
Speaking in lines
Known to yourself
Your speaking at length
On all those days
Will you come with me
And we'll be ourselves,
And we'll walk into the light
And you can colour yourself
In golden wings
You're never yourself
Not even with me
Will you come with me
And we'll ask the dust
It's on my way
It's all my concentration
Can hold
But you alienate me
And throw it down
And rip it off
When nothing's feeling right
And I'll show you how
You can sellotape it on
You're giving me wings
So I don't have to jump
And you're giving me will
So I can carry on
Dissimulate and celebrate this
Time we had alone
09 Santa Maria (06:57)
Let me off of this boat
I'm sick of this ride
The world is heading ever southward
And I can't stay in here
And you're lying awake
Away on your side
The feeling comes in waves and burns us
And I don't wanna die
From the slippery hands
To the line of your throat
The fever now consumes us both
In a fire now we will go
Santa Maria
Why did you have to go?
Santa Maria
One day we will know
In a bowing of heads and a passing of hands
And all we thought they'd understand
Is lost and they won't know
And what have we left
It's all that we've got
There is no 'X' to mark our spot
What's past is done and gone
Santa Maria
Why did you have to burn?
Santa Maria
One day you will learn
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