Review: Framing Hanley – ‘A Promise to Burn’
Posted: May 28th, 2010
Contributed By: Andrew
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Release Date: May 25th, 2010 via Silent Majority Group
Framing Hanley is: |
Framing Hanley’s debut album, ‘The Moment’, was a difficult album to describe. At times mundane, other times vibrant, the album proved to be a sparkling debut, but not one that left a lingering taste. For the three years since, I’ve seen Framing Hanley as a band with great potential. The Nashville quintet has a good sense of song writing, and a talented and unique set of performers. Their newest album ‘A Promise to Burn’ sees the band take their second stab at greatness, an attempt highlighted by a much greater variety of music, and a realization of potential. ‘A Promise to Burn’ is not hard to describe; it is quite simply amazing.
One short intro track away lays the calm opening lines of ‘A Promise to Burn’. As “The Promise” opens with a mere whisper, it’s hard to determine if the track is a great starting point for this disc. Turns out it is. “The Promise” is highlighted not just by one of the album’s more memorable choruses, but also by a slow-building tone that begins with just that short whisper. “The Promise” may be the track on this album that sounds the most like it belongs on ‘The Moment’, but it feels like a song that took that formula and refined it. Rest assured however, Framing Hanley was not content to rest on the familiar tone of their past, and the rest of ‘A Promise to Burn’ is a grab bag of great songs.
Each song on this album deserves some kind of praise, starting with the first single, “You Stupid Girl.” The verses lure you in with another slow build-up, then infects your mind with a chorus that cannot be forgotten. Heavier than any song on the album, “You Stupid Girl” is a rocker designed to head bang to. Right off of that track is “Weight of the World,” a ballad that might sound clichéd from any other band but works perfectly with the mood set by this album. The vocals are pitch-perfect throughout, pouring out the emotion of the song perfectly, and making the song more of a tearjerker than an eye-roller. “Bittersweet Sundown” strikes immediately with an up-tempo beat, keeping your foot tapping during the song’s entire three-and-a-half minute reign. My personal favorite might just have to be “Photographs and Gasoline,” a tune that’s so dark in tone that shivers run down the spine. The slow-cooking song is a trademark of this album, and none utilizes it better than “Photographs and Gasoline,” which gains more and more intensity with each line.
But why tack on a near two-minute outro to that same song? The song climaxes perfectly with an echoed line upon being ‘finished’ but is them dragged down from it’s peak by seemingly useless outro. Perhaps as an album closer I could understand, as it would serve almost perfectly as a parallel to “Intro,” but with the real closer “The Burn” immediately after, it’s hard to understand the placement. My other major quibble with ‘A Promise to Burn’ is the song “Back To Go Again.” The track is certainly infectious enough to warrant a listen, but it seems to go against the mood of the album. “Back To Go Again” is poppy rock at it’s finest, and while Framing Hanley may have done a bang up job on it, it simply feels out of place on the disc.
That’s as far as my nitpicking goes however. My apology goes out to “Wake Up,” “WarZone,” “Fool With Dreams,” “Livin’ So Divine,” and “You,” because I feel nearly every song on this album deserves to be mentioned and praised. ‘A Promise to Burn’ is Framing Hanley’s potential being reached. It is a disc that is ambitious, does not shy away from variety, and has all of the earmarks of an album that will still be remembered a year from now, if not longer. I can’t begin to say enough good things about ‘A Promise to Burn’, but I will end where I began. This album is, quite simply, amazing.
TuneLab Rating: 9 out of 10
29 Comments
I do agree with this review. This is a great album, one in which I think will help them grow bigger as a band. My favories include WarZone, You Stupid Girl, and Fool With Dreams. But I like the whole album. Framing Hanley played here in Baton Rouge, LA last night and most of set was from A Promise To Burn. I will say hearing these songs brought to life live was great to hear, you will NOT be disappointed. This album is like I said GREAT. They sound good live just like on the album. Worth your money and time. Congrats and thanks to Framing Hanley!
I just can’t get into this. Too soft and boring.
My words
0.1/100
Miss screams. :O
I love this album! You Stupid Girl will be this summers anthem!!
3/10 AT BEST! With so many GOOD rock releases this year. you’d think one would step up to their stride with a new release…but nope. That is not what happened here, they dropped the ball. Slow, boring, okay lyrics, and really nothing special at all instrumentally.
A 3/10 really?
ur a complete idiot…how bout u work as hard as guys in the studio do b4 u bash someone fag
Take another listen man this is a great album! 9/10 is good!
This is a good album. Not a great hard rock album but certainly an album that deserves such praise and I like the track that they are going down with this ablum.
I tried to do it all in one go, but I couldn’t! I got 3 songs deep and then was bored to tears. I came back later and went for a couple more, then a couple more, and so on. I finally got through it, but I would never put myself through that torture again. It was simply boring. To me, why listen to that when I could be listening to this. That’s all I was thinking. That’s outstanding if this album speaks to you guys! It just doesn’t to me.
Great review, Andrew. Keep up the good work, sir!
As for the album, I just bought it and am thoroughly enjoying it. One of my favorites this year although I have admittedly not listened to very many albums yet. Too bad “Pretty Face” is a bonus track exclusive to Itunes. That song is one of my favorites from the album.
I was really disappointed with this album… Stupid Girl was great and had my hopes up really high… but i have to agree with THENEWBLACK…. it was pretty boring. ESPECIALLY “Weight of the World”…. i mean what were they thinking? It sounds like a Weezer song… (not that i have a problem with Weezer)
I was just expecting a more “ballsy” sound. *sigh*
another tunelab review i disagree wiht. listened to samples and i just cant get into this album.
You just listened to samples and you disagree? Are you serious?
I wish I only listened to samples, then I wouldn’t have wasted an hour of my life…
True story,it´s really piece of crap xD
A little disappointed a lot of you can’t enjoy more mellow rock. There’s nothing boring about this album at all.
They’re a Post-Grunge band, not soft rock, so it shouldn’t be a mellow album. That’s our point. And bands like the goo goo dolls make good soft albums, this was slow and boring. There’s a difference.
Post-Grunge does not mean you have to be a hard rock band. Also, this album is far from being “Too soft”. So, your point is flawed, extremely.
Opinions can’t be flawed…but no, it isn’t I have already a few that agree. Remember I never said that the band is terrible or you guys are crazy for liking it. I just gave a rating and defended why. I like a couple songs off it, and that’s why I gave it a 3 as opposed to a 0.
It’s flawed because you must have fell asleep on the first half, woke up and listened to the three songs in the middle and fell asleep on the second half. Too soft? I don’t understand what you consider heavy, does it have to be screaming to be heavy? I didn’t consider this album to be melodic, or soft rock.
The reason I called your point flawed, was cause you have your genres all mixed up.
I’m kind of wondering what all these good rock release are that newblack is talking about. because this and new deftones are the only albums I’m finding really memorable. the rest are good, but don’t have a lot of replay value.
By good rock releases I meant expected good rock releases. That’s why I followed with “you’d think one would follow through”. Secondly post- grunge is an adaptation or similarity to hard rock, grunge rock, and alternative metal. I’m a fan of hard rock bands who can do slower songs well. But not a band that’s supposed to hard rock and goes soft slow rock. Which is fine for some but framing hanley just get get to my tastebuds or ear canals w/e. And finally, I consider the deftones metal not rock, but if you wanna know my favourite releases this year: mnemic, deftones, depswa, fear factory, bullet for my valentine, hail the villain, 2cents.
Now I know why consider this album “too soft”.
I definitely don’t have my genres mixed up, I know the slightest differences between genres. Thy are a post-grunge band and this was a pop-rock/alt-rock album at most. Not post-grunge or hard rock. Also, I’m not comparing the heaviness to metal I’m comparing it to three days grace or breaking Benjamin or 12stones or any other post-grunge bands. It’s a light rock album and it’s too slow for my liking.
A couple of my favourite things to hear in music is rock bands that aren’t for being heavy doing something uncharacteristically heavy. Or a heavy band doing something melodic like a guy that screams doing some surprisingly good clean singing. This has nothing to do with this album review, but those character music changes are a couple things I listen for to surprise me. And FH didn’t nothing original or different on this release, which is fine but no mattress who it is if the band doesn’t do something original they don’t deserve a 9.
Mattress = matter lol
Not soft enough to be pop, too poppy to be rock, not enough on it to make me want to hear it again. Seems like fluff from a band with very little going for them from the beginning. Boring, Boring, Boring.
My first exposure to this band, and I really like them. My fave is “War Zone” and I love “Back to Go Again.” MUCH better than 99% of the crappy bands on the radio today (Breaking Ben, Suck Puppies, Saving Abel, etc…) There is maybe one “slow” song too many, but I really dig about 7 songs on this disc, which to me makes it a winner.