Oceansize - Frames
List Price:
Our Price: $20.01
You Save: $11.98 (37%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Artist: OceansizeEdition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2007-10-02
Soundtracks:
- Commemorative T-Shirt
- Unfamiliar
- Trail of Fire
- Savant
- Only Twin
- Old Friend of the Christies
- Sleeping Dogs and Dead Lions
- Frame
- Voorhees
Free Music Notes for Frames
Free Music Review: A beautiful journey
Hit: 5 Stars
At the beginning of 2007 I first heard about Oceansize when listening to songs on the internet radio site Pandora - Homage to a Shame came on and I knew I had to get something by this band. Their cds are rather difficult to come by in the States, so I had to purchase Everyone Into Position from iTunes - I fell in love with the band almost instantly.
Fast forward to now, after many repeated listens to Frames. At first, I didn't think it was as good as EIP - but now it's all I've been listening to. The songs on this album are incredibly subtle, much more so than in the past. 90% of this album is in odd meters or is polyrhythmic, yet I wasn't aware of that at first listen because of this subtlety. One of the things that make this band so great in today's music world is that they take the complexity of so called progressive rock, but only use it to serve the compositions and not their own instrumental showboating.
The spectrum of emotions running through this music is vast and deep. Songs on this album go in all directions, yet each is completely distinct from one another. Commemorative 9/11 T Shirt features a hypnotizing and somewhat minimalistic piano/guitar riff that builds into a fantastic climax, a style of songwriting that Oceansize has perfected on this record. Unfamiliar is probably the most active song aside from Sleeping Dogs - its main riff could be described as a cry of desperation. Trail of Fire is my current personal favorite of the group, with its beautiful, ethereal opening swirl of notes. This track is truly moving to listen to, especially when it reaches the end.
Savant is a serene landscape, reminiscent of Music for a Nurse from the previous album. The lyrics are especially notable: "where others float, you and I crash land." A string section ends the song, making it stand out even more. Only Twin is rhythmically among the most difficult of all Oceansize songs - a rhodes piano lays down a pattern in 3/4, but at a key point in the lyrics the band comes in in 5/8. Later in the song, vocals build to an emotional climax. An Old Friend of the Christy's is quite a different song for them, a sort of post-doom funeral dirge. Again, the band take their time in building on the same theme, but this approach definitely works - this song's grief is unrelenting.
The last two tracks are somewhat of a juxtaposition, proving Oceansize's musical and emotional versatility. Sleeping Dogs and Dead Lions is absolutely vicious. Its highly Meshuggah-influenced opening riff is the most ear-catching moment on the record, along with the piercing vocals. The song breaks down into a Disco Volante-era Mr. Bungle style section with strange guitar/vocal unisons, and really goes out with a bang - fans of A Homage to a Shame from their last album will really find something to love in this song. Lastly, the beautiful The Frame is the Ornament/Last Wrongs of the album, closing the entire work on a decidedly positive note. Its serene and patient solo guitar opening sound post-rock, yet this song does not proceed with the self-importance and unnecessary "noodling" that plagues so much of that genre.
As you can tell, I really can't say enough about this album. The emotions present here go through desperation, anger, determination, grief, hope, and acceptance. If you are going through a hard time in your life, no matter what it is, I think that this album can help you get through it - it's working for me. I can't find anything on it that I dislike.
Oceansize fans, if you don't have this yet, buy it before you buy anything else - even your groceries.
Newcomers, you'll want this, but you might want to get Everyone Into Position first, as it's more accessible at first than this album. But, if you're a patient and appreciative listener, this might just be the purchase for you.
Oceansize is one of the most promising bands in today's musical landscape. All of the members possess high technical ability on their instruments, but only use it sparingly and selectively. Their compositions are infinitely more thoughtful than most of their contemporaries, using subtlety and emotion instead of blazing solos and instrumental feats. Hopefully they will enjoy a great amount of success so we can continue to hear these wonderful new sounds.
Alternative Rock Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in 2007 Prog Rock and Metal
Devin Townsend - Presents: Ziltoid the OmniscientRelease date: 2007-06-05; Music CD
Best price: $9.98
Price in other shops:
Dead Soul Tribe - A Lullaby for the DevilRelease date: 2007-09-11; Music CD
Best price: $11.55
Price in other shops:
Antimatter - Leaving EdenRelease date: 2007-07-17; Music CD
Best price: $13.99
Price in other shops:
Sylvan - PresetsRelease date: 2007-02-20; Music CD
Best price: $11.95
Price in other shops:
Threshold - Dead ReckoningRelease date: 2007-04-24; Music CD
Best price: $11.81
Price in other shops:
Pain of Salvation - ScarsickRelease date: 2007-01-30; Music CD
Best price: $11.46
Price in other shops:
Porcupine Tree - Nil RecurringRelease date: 2008-02-19; Music CD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
Oceansize - FramesRelease date: 2007-10-02; Music CD
Best price: $25.10
Price in other shops:
Riverside - Rapid Eye MovementRelease date: 2007-10-09; Music CD
Best price: $12.71
Price in other shops:
Pineapple Thief - What We Have SownRelease date: 2008-01-18; Music CD
Best price: $27.06
Top Rated Albums
Doomsday AfternoonRelease date: 2007-06-21; Music CD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
Blackfield - NYC (Live in New York)Koch International; Release date: 2007-11-06; DVD
Best price: $12.98
Price in other shops:
Pure Reason Revolution - The Dark ThirdRelease date: 2006-07-25; Music CD
Best price: $2.69
Price in other shops:
Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank PlanetRelease date: 2007-04-24; Music CD
Best price: $7.37
Price in other shops:
The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in GoliathRelease date: 2008-01-29; Music CD
Best price: $6.65
Price in other shops:
Radiohead - In RainbowsRelease date: 2008-01-01; Music CD
Best price: $6.97
Price in other shops:
Abigail's Ghost - Selling InsincerityRelease date: 2007-03-13; Published: 2007; Music CD
Best price: $14.98
Price in other shops:
Riverside - Rapid Eye MovementRelease date: 2007-10-09; Music CD
Best price: $12.46
Price in other shops:
Oceansize - Everyone into PositionRelease date: 2006-02-07; Music CD
Best price: $10.65
Price in other shops:
Oceansize - EffloresceRelease date: 2003-10-06; Music CD
Best price: $12.13
Price in other shops: