THE DAILY RECORD, SCOTLAND >

SOUNDCHECK by Rick Fulton

Click here to read the full review on MySpace blogs

A Glasgow group who take The Bathers as their year zero – a band who held down jobs but still released music. Most recently London’s Broken Family band has done the same thing. Fram aren’t chasing a record deal, they just like making music.

The album ‘this is how we live now’ is very down tempo, call it ‘chilled folk’ if you like. Album opener ‘Endurance’ has a nice Duane Eddy sounding guitar, drum beats that barely keep the eyes open an only the briefest glimpses of vocals. And so the album goes on. From the lullaby softness of ‘Broken’ to the piano torch song of ‘Myths’, there’s not much bpm to Fram. Think of Primal Scream or Spiritualized at their most blissed out. But ‘Action Painting’ storms out of bed in the second half in a hailstorm of guitars. Epic stuff for a ‘hobby’.

IS THIS MUSIC? >

This Is How We Live Now (East Grand Rapids)

http://www.isthismusic.com/fram

Fram, hailing from Glasgow, aren’t like most other bands. They don’t concern themselves with musical scenes, looking good, chasing the rock n’ roll dream or insecurely slagging off other bands for the sake of it. Fram aren’t even that bothered about getting a record deal.

No, Fram are happy just making music in their spare time, doing day jobs and spending time with friends and family. This refreshing, almost humble, outlook is one of the things that make this record a quality body of work. This Is How We Live Now is an album put together by the band out of their own pocket and it has a relaxed, contented feel to it; born perhaps out of a confidence of where they are musically.

Most of the tracks are softer, piano-driven with delicate electric guitar and display a comfortable grasp of musicianship and songwriting which many of today’s more successful bands just wouldn’t be able to match.

For me, the stand-out track is ‘Action Painting’, which has a stunning musical shift in it mid-way through, where the instrumentalists take over and unleash a spectacular finish to the song. Songs like this suggest Fram are capable of big things - hugeness - but you probably couldn’t tell them that… //Chris Walker

CDBABY.COM >

Detached need not mean cold....

Glaswegian music has been stuck in thrall to Belle and Sebastian on one hand and lairy laddishness á la a hundred Oasis re-hashes for so long that the first surprising thing about this album was the city in which it was conceived.

This delicately observed debut pulses with ethereal beauty, never confusing quiet for emotion nor chasing tears with gimmicks. Indeed, the intensity generated through its sheer honesty engenders in the listener a strong feeling of engagement - these are songs you will connect with and develop relationships. With balanced soundscapes and a keen sense of detachment, the band manage to startle with moments of tranquility and a sparse dignity which is truly ennervating.

A less spiky Joy Division, a more elegiac American Music Club, a softer Interpol - big names, but they stand the comparision. An album whose richness you will savour and a band who you can't help feel are devloping to something truly intriguing. Check it out. //author: Alex Edwards

CDBABY.COM >

Stately.....

This is a fantastic debut album from Glaswegian band Fram. Think icy, ethereal music bristling with haunting vocals and spiky guitar flourishes. Neat songwriting, difficult to pigeonhole, but somewhere between Joy Division's austere soundscapes and MBV's quieter moments. Buy this album, you wont regret it. Depth and profundity abound. // author: Joe Whyte

 

MUSICOHM >

Click here to open review on BlogSpot of Fram album demos

Had a somewhat bad start into this day; first my computer at work wouldn't start up, then people came nagging about unimportant things, phone started ringing with more nagging people on the line... and that all was within the first hour and before my first coffee! I hate those days...

So I was in desperate need for some mellow music to bring me down again, and I found it in Glaswegians Fram, another band I've discovered via MusicOHM's brilliant Unsigned Guide. Not much information is to be found about Fram other than they're mainly a studio band without big ambitions to get famous. As they say, they believe in the redemptive power of great music, and its inherent heart and soul. They go on: Great music can have an emotional impact, and a physical one. If we could find one chord change or lyric that operated at that level we'd be delighted. That search is the greatest part of being in a band.

Nice thoughts, I think. And when you listen to the songs already available, you will hear that they really mean what they say. Especially Dream is a wonderful piece of music that starts off slowly, takes you by the hand and leads you into an almost noisy, epic ending. Nostalgia is another beautiful one with a little Pink-Floyd-touch, and Motion is the most uplifting one of the three.

The band is currently writing more songs for a full-length album. If it will ever see the light, we don't know. I can imagine that Fram will not release an album just to have one out. They're on the right track with the three songs already existing, and if they can create more beauties like these, I can see no reason for the album to be held back. Let's see what happens next!

For lack of any band pics, I have posted a picture of Fram's favourite photographer, Dan Holdsworth. If you've got a little time on your hands, I suggest you visit his site, too. The music of Fram is the perfect background for rummaging in those excellent shots! //Review on BlogSpot of Fram album demos