Album Review: Framing Hanley - Envy

It seems like there's a never-ending supply of bands getting back together after years apart, which surprises me, since it's harder than ever for bands to get attention and make money. I'm left wondering if they are regrouping because whatever issues they might have had are behind them, if starting new bands is too hard, of if they know they don't even need to work hard on new music to get their old fans to continue attending shows, which is where the real money is. It's hard to tell when intentions are good, and when something is merely the easiest path forward. I won't try to speculate which is true for Framing Hanley, but this is their first album since breaking up, which leaves me curious.

Listening to "Bubbles", what I'm hearing is a more guitar-based version of the current pop/rock sound. There is a slinky guitar riff in the verse, but the majority of the song is a repetitive attempt to be pop with overlapping vocals that don't really add up to a whole lot. Why that is the starting point of the record is confusing, since the following song, "Misery", has a similar build but a far stronger, bigger, and hookier chorus. If anything, I sort of hear a bit of "Songs About Jane" era Maroon 5 in it, especially the falsetto notes that dot the melody. It may not be the most current of songs, but it's good, which is more important.

Past that, the record settles into a groove where the songs combine slight djenty riffs with emotional vocals, and that results in a record that is able to sound dark and brooding without getting too dour to sit through. Being on the right side of that fine line is the difference between making a record that is weighty, and one that you can't wait to be over. There has to be a light at the end of the tunnel, or else there isn't any reason to keep going. I've heard more than enough bands that don't get that message, and turn their music into aural misery.

As the record unfolds, Framing Hanley brings to mind several bands from the past. There's the aforementioned Maroon 5, but there's also "Puzzle Pieces" and "The Way Down" with a definite aura of classic-era Fall Out Boy, and the closing "Counterfeit" and "Baggage Claim" that are pulled from the "Futures" era of Jimmy Eat World (one of the best, most underrated albums ever). They reach back into the past and pull out threads of sounds we don't get to hear anymore, as bands have moved on to newer and less interesting, directions. The record isn't a throwback, but there is a bit of nostalgia that comes through, at least for me.

Mainstream rock hasn't had much to offer in recent years, with tons of generic bands rehashing the same old thing again and again. Framing Hanley is different enough to stand out from that crowd, and there are some very good songs on this record. It's the sort of album that requires a second thought to understand the nuance of the approach. That might make it unlikely to catch fire in the mainstream, where first impressions are vitally important, but it means "Envy" is more interesting than whatever Theory Of A Deadman, or whatever they're calling themselves these days, is putting out. There's something here, that much I know.