Counting the cost?
Six albums into a career that has seen them scale the giddy heights of the charts in their native Ireland, The Frames have finally delivered an album that threatens to provide them with their UK breakthrough. Recorded live with few over-dubs in order to capture the intensity of their concert performances it's a fresh, vibrant set that plays to the band's strengths.
The panoramic opener 'Song For Someone' is a slow build beauty, fleshed out with strings. The epic sweep of 'People Get Ready' recalls 'Joshua Tree' era U2. Vocalist Glen Hansard switches effortlessly between husky tenderness and rasping roar sometimes within the space of the same song. 'Rise' is just one of a number of examples on 'The Cost'. An exquisite ballad it starts off rather innocuously before piano chords give way to an orchestral barrage of grandiose proportions. While 2005's 'Burn The Maps' hinted at something special (most notably on the scabrous 'Fake' and the driving indie rock of 'Underglass') its successor delivers on that promise with added interest. The catchy, spiralling riff on 'When Your Mind's Made Up' initially meanders before exploding into life around the mid-way mark, coruscating electric guitars crackle and fizz while Hansard's delivery is so gutsy and passionate you can't help but be moved. The acoustic sway of 'Sad Songs' is underpinned by the deft usage of slide guitar giving this number a countrified feel. The album's title track ('The Cost') by contrast is a dark, angst ridden scream to a sigh that pleasantly segues into the less cheery but ultimately more impressive 'True'. Confessional in tone 'True' is simply stunning, it takes nearly three and half minutes to build up steam before soaring into life, swelling strings accompany Hansard's most direct lyric and controlled vocal performance – one that'll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention. The elegant ballad 'The Side You Never Get To See' is another highlight, set to a waltz like time signature it's a poignant beauty that showcases the band's lighter side. Once again the string arrangement is sublime providing added warmth to the layers of largely acoustic guitar. Proceedings end with the intimate 'Bad Bone', it's a rather down-tempo finale but it does little to detract from the emotional power of the record as a whole.
'The Cost' sets the benchmark for all other indie rock albums set for release in these coming months, it's a bold statement of intent and hopefully one that will reap commercial as well as critical dividends for its creators.